Easier To Run
by FallenAngel2194
Summary: Roxas is the new kid at Axel's school and also happens to be his new neighbor. Roxas is a bit...antisocial, and he's not sharing why. Of course Axel's confused what his issue is. All he has to do is find out...how hard could that be? Yaoi, no like no read
1. People Suck

_A/N: Hi people! This just an add on to the summary. This story will eventually be yaoi, so no like no read. Pairings include AkuRoku (duh), Zemyx, possible Soriku ( i haven't decided if i should go into them to much) mentiond RoxasxHayner...and that should cover it. Thanx!!_

_Axel's POV_

"Good morning class. This is…" just like Xemnas to forget a new kid's name.

"Roxas. Roxas Tetsu." The boy's accent was light, but still there. I couldn't place it though. Somewhat Asian if I had to guess.

"Well, Roxas, take a seat anywhere you like." I had basically ignored him until that moment. Let's see what we have here.

Blonde hair swept off to one side in spikes. Nice tough. He was small for his age, really small. His eyes…we'll just say they're the brightest blue I've ever seen. They seemed even brighter with the eyeliner he had on. His clothes consisted of a white turtleneck and black jeans with holes in them and a chain attached at his right hip. Two studded belts crisscrossed around his hips. This kid was interesting.

He was also antisocial it seemed. I've noticed that most new kids we get tend to gravitate towards the largest section of students. Not Roxas. There was this little area in the back that had about five empty desks. He sat as close as he could to the wall and as far away from everyone as he could get.

Xemnas didn't notice it seemed, and started the lesson. I think it had something to do with the project we were doing. Whatever. I could ask Demy about it later.

My peaceful nap was interrupted by the bell. Blah. I hated that thing. And yet before I could leave for Math, Xemnas pulled me towards his desk. Roxas was already there.

"Roxas, I know you told me you would prefer to find your own way around, but perhaps Axel here could at least show you to your next class."

He just stared at me. Cold and calculating. It was kinda creepy actually…

"Thank you sir, but as I said before I know where it is already. And I don't think…Axel, would enjoy the position of tour guide very much. But thank you again." With that, he left.

Whoa. Not many new kids did that. I mean come on. Who in there right mind would? New school, new place…huge school I might add. And the possibility of a new 'friend'. Not that I would be there friend, but still…most kids didn't get that until later on.

Xemnas just shrugged and finally let me go, erasing me from his mind altogether.

Eh. Whatever.

Math. I hated math with a passion. Not that I was bad at it…oh no. I was terrible at it. Not even Zexion, the smartest kid I know, could get me to understand it. It could have something to do with the fact that I didn't care…

Roxas was there. Even though we still had about ten minutes before class even started. He was talking with Luxord.

"Are you sure you don't want anyone to show you around? Destiny High s pretty big…"

"I said I would be fine. I don't want to be a burden on anyone. If anything, things would go a lot easier if people just forgot I was here." What? Okay that was odd…What was with this kid.

"Axel, was it? It would be a lot easier to hear things if you entered the door." I jumped. How the hell did he know I was out here?! It's not like I made any noise…Creepy.

"Whatever." Ah, how I do love tact. It has saved my ass more times than I can remember…but then again, it's also put my ass in danger plenty of times…

Roxas, was once again seated at the back of the room, ignoring the world. He didn't even seem to be listening to the teacher.

I was proved wrong on that observation about five times. Luxord loved to ask random math problems. Hard ones too. He said it was to keep our minds sharp. I think he just did it to humiliate us. Needless to say I got all mine wrong. Roxas got all his right. It was a tad bit creepy how quickly he did it too.

* * *

"Have you guys seen the new kid?" Demyx was always talking about something. Seemed Roxas had caught his attention.

"You mean the one walking towards us right now? He's cute." No that was not me. That was Larxene. She had this weird smile on her face. Great. "I'll be right back." With that, she left us, heading towards Roxas.

"That might not be a good idea…" And of course, like usual, Zexion made the comment to late to do any difference. Demyx slung his arm around his boyfriend, who was once again, silent.

"She'll figure that out soon enough." I looked at him. His blonde mullet/faux-hawk, as always, caught my attention for a split second before I even looked at his face.

"And how did you come to know Roxas?" I knew Demyx had a class with him, we all did, except for Larxene. I'm just wondering what his impression of him was.

"Well, I asked him if he wanted to sit with us just a minute ago, while you were getting your lunch. He kinda just stared at me before turning and walking away. He just ignored Zex." That was said with a slight pout. Demyx was slightly…protective of Zexion, his one and only love. Those two were inseparable.

"Eh, he at least said something to me. Even caught me eavesdropping behind Luxord's door." Larxene chose that moment to return. Instead if the smile she had been wearing earlier, she was now pouting. Or frowning. Whichever.

"What did he say?" What do you think Dem?

"He didn't say anything. He just walked away." I looked after the retreating blonde. Again with the antisocial thing…Oh. That should be interesting.

"Hey guys, look." Sora was approaching him. I hated Sora. I hated Sora's friends…okay we'll stick with I hated him and his group. Also known as preps. Sora, his best friend (more like boyfriend if you ask me) Riku, Namine and her sister Kairi.

It looked like a few words were exchanged before…Roxas shoved his lunch tray into Sora's face and walked out.

The cafeteria went dead silent. The room was split between looking at Sora and looking at the door Roxas had left swinging.

"Well you don't see that every day." Really now Demyx?

"That was kinda…harsh." Why am I stuck with people who seem to only want to state the obvious?

"Sora probably deserved it." I took a bite of my sandwich, completely ready to let the entire subject blow over.

"Axel, I know you hate him, but come on. Even you didn't start hating him until at least the second week." Good point.

Sora walked out with Riku and the rest on his heels. I think I saw steam coming from his head. Heh. Bout time someone showed him exactly what they thought of him, even if it was a little sudden.

* * *

"Reno! I'm home!" I slammed the door to emphasize the fact.

"Where the hell have you been? You missed meeting our new neighbor." New neighbor? So that apartment finally sold. I shrugged, knowing that he could see me.

"I was out with Demyx." Not really, but he didn't need to know that. Reno doesn't like me going to the mall by myself. Some paranoid delusion about stalkers and molesters. Come on. I'm eighteen, I think I can take care of myself.

"You suck at lying you know that right?" I shrugged again, and fell onto the couch by him.

"So, our neighbor is supposed to come back to meet you later."

"And why the hell would he do that?" Not that I cared. But the news wasn't very interesting either…

"Because I told him you guys went to the same high school." What the…?

"Did he give a name?"

"Yeah. Roxas Tetsu I think. Just moved here from Korea apparently. I thought he was kinda cute…" Ew. I did not need to hear that. Yes my brother is gay. It can get pretty obvious at times…just like it is now.

"Reno, I do not need to hear how cute the Ice Demon next door is. I really don't."

"Ice Demon?" I'm guessing Roxas pulled the same stunt he had with Luxord.

"Definitely. The kid is a walking block of ice. He ignored Demyx, Larxene, and Zexion. I think I'm the only one he said something to." I didn't add that he had said it while catching me spying.

"And then he created a very interesting scene in the lunch room by covering Sora in his lunch and walking out." Reno thought that over for a sec.

"Hmm." Then he shrugged and went back to watching some old guy (about 35 actually but hey…) spout something about the weather.

Why the hell was I up?! I looked at the clock. 12:38. In the goddamn morning…ugh…

I lay there for about another half hour before I realized I wasn't going to sleep again. Wonder if I could see the stars tonight…

I walked out of the apartment as quietly as I could. Reno may be a morning person, but he wakes up by himself. You wake him up and…I'll see you at your funeral.

The night was cool and clear. Pretty rare up here. I also wasn't alone out along the rail.

Of course I didn't notice him until I saw the red glow of a lighter, followed by a duller light.

Needless to say, I nearly jumped over the rail. It also took me a moment to recognize who it was. Roxas, the ice demon. Smoking.

"You do know that's bad for you right?" Lame I know, but I just don't understand how people could get into smoking. I had tried it once. Never again. And that's final.

He made a rude noise. "I've smoked worse." Great. So the new kid and my new neighbor is a druggie. Just great.

"I'm not a…" he seemed to be searching for the right word. "a druggie. Not anymore." Well…that's better than nothing I guess…

"You're probably not going to answer this, but, what was with the attitude today?" Okay so I was a little curious.

He hadn't looked at me once, and he didn't now. All he was doing was staring out over the city, the cigarette hanging from his mouth.

"What was with the eavesdropping?" See? I knew he wouldn't answer me.

It was my turn to shrug.

"I just don't like…people." With that he dropped his cigarette beneath his boot and walked back into his open door. Okay so I stand corrected. Not the answer I was expecting but it was still an answer.

I stayed out there for another fifteen minutes before heading back in. I took out my cd player (I have an ipod but I don't use it unless I'm away from home) and put in my newest cd. One from my favorite band. ShukketsuHatsu. I think It meant bleeding hearts in Japanese I think. Which meant I couldn't understand a word. Not that I cared, they sounded awesome.

I fell asleep with my ears being blasted out by j-rock. Heh. I like my life.

Discalimer: Me own nothing. Everything either belongs to Linkin Park or Square Enix...not damn fair...

A/N: okay so this is my first solo fanfic. Please don't kill me if it sucks!! I've been wanting to write this one for a long time, but only just now got up the courage to post it...please review! I will give any sweet treat you want if you do!


	2. Xemnas is Evil

A/N I forgot to add that the last chapter was in Axel's POV (obviously) but yes there will be Roxas' POV in here somewhere...so anyway, i won't forget anymore! And special thanks to darkyuy!! Thank you so much for reviewing!

* * *

_Axel's POV_

Reno was shouting something

Reno was shouting something. I couldn't understand him, but the fact that I could hear him at all meant he was screaming pretty loud. Yes I was still blasting my ears out with j-rock.

I pulled out one earphone and smirked up at my red faced brother.

"Reno, your face is the same color as your hair." That earned me a smack on the head. Ow dammit.

"About time. Do you want to go deaf?" His hands were on his hips and he was looking down at me. Somehow the image struck me as slightly comical. Especially since Reno hadn't changed out of his Care Bear pajama pants.

"If it means I wouldn't have to listen to you? Sure." Another smack.

"Dammit Reno!" I lunged at him. He just laughed and ran out of the room. Oh how I loathe him in the mornings.

It takes me all of seven minutes to get ready for school. Grab whatever t-shirt I could (happened to be a ShukketsuHatsu shirt actually…) a pair of jeans, run my hand through my hair, grab my IPod and keys and hope Reno didn't need the car.

"Reno? You using the car today?" I walked into the kitchen, stealing my brother's toast while he was busy looking in the fridge.

"Axel, put down the toast."

"Make me." I took a bite out of it. Mine now. "So do you need the car?"

"Yes actually. So you're walking. Or maybe Roxas can give you a ride." Heh. Not likely.

I dropped the keys back on the counter and once again swore to myself that I would buy my own car this year.

"See ya tonight!" That was Reno. I lifted my hand in response and closed the door.

I stood there for a second, just taking in the morning. It looked like rain. Shit.

While I stood there contemplating on how to best kill Reno, Roxas opened his door and walked out, completely ignoring me. Shouldn't I at least ask? Maybe he'll be nice…and maybe pigs'll fly and Zexion will become a flower child.

I mentally shrugged and decided to try anyway.

"Hey Roxas?" He stopped and looked over his shoulder at me. Hey at least he didn't ignore me right? Actually he seemed to be starring pretty intently at my…shirt? What the…

"Could I catch a ride with you? My brother's being a prick." He stared at me for a moment longer. Those blue eyes were just as cold as yesterday.

"You mean the same brother who was yelling at you for half an hour at the top of his lungs?" Oh right….he's my next door neighbor…oopsie…

"Yeah, sorry about that." He shrugged.

"You can ride if you want, though it probably won't be comfortable." What's that supposed to mean? I followed him down the stairs into the parking lot.

Ah. That's what he meant. Roxas didn't own a car. He owned a motorcycle. Cool. He turned to see if I was backing down. I wasn't.

He tossed something at me. I caught it before I could even recognize what it was. It was a helmet. He already had his on and was waiting for me. I climbed on behind him and loosely wrapped my arms around his waist.

He was stiff the entire way there. Okay, mental note, don't touch Roxas.

Demyx and Larxene were waiting for me near the school parking lot. Zexion was there too, but that's kinda a given.

I gave Roxas the helmet back saying thanks. He didn't say anything. Just walked past me and my group up to the school.

"Well that was unexpected." Oh right. I hadn't told them who was living next door.

"Roxas is my new neighbor." That got a reaction. From Demyx. Who was now jumping up and down happily.

"Did you learn anything about him?" Only a little.

"Yeah. He's an antisocial kid who hates people and smokes."

"We knew the antisocial part." I shrugged and started walking.

* * *

I hate Xemnas. I really do. Not only is he my English teacher, but he's also the Arts Director for the school. Weird I know. Bur still…talent competition? It's only three weeks into the school year. And why is it mandatory participation for only this class?! Every other class gets a choice…okay not every class. If you have Xemans for anything, you're in and that's that.

We had two weeks to come up with an idea, rehearse it, and try and figure out how to get out of it.

It wouldn't have been that bad…until Xemnas added something.

"I will assign you pairs. Your pair may work with another but whatever you do, your partner must be a part of it." I think I just got handed a one way ticket to hell. Demyx, Zexion, and Larxene all had Xemnas, just at a different time so there was no chance of me being paired with them…and everyone else in the class either hated me (about half) or were scared of me (the other half).

Xemnas must have noticed how the atmosphere darkened visibly (especially around my desk) because he smirked and started naming pairs.

I kept mental count of who was left, crossing off names a Xemnas called them out. Everyone had been called except me and…Xemnas hates me I swear! Yes I am mentally sobbing. Why did he have to pair me with that emo brat.

Yes I am quick to judge. Got a problem with that?!

"For the next hour and a half, since second period has been canceled, you may go anywhere on the grounds with your partner. And if you noticed, I paired you with people I know you either, a) hate, or b) just don't know. So this next hour will be bonding time. Get to know the other person, and then use the next two weeks to come up with something you both can do." I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, I hate him…I'm gonna stop now.

The class was basically gone by the time I regained my logic. Roxas was standing by my desk, making me jump and land hard on the floor.

"Do you have to do that?" He just stared at me again. No wait a sec. He was staring at my shirt again.

"Come on." I heaved myself up and walked out the door, knowing full well Roxas was behind me, even if I couldn't hear him.

* * *

We were sitting on the bleachers by the football field. And we had been quiet for about fifteen minutes. One thing about me. I'm not good with silence. Really not good.

Roxas finally moved. And by moved, I meant, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

"On school grounds? Are you crazy?!" Normally I wouldn't care. But I was right here. Sorry but I don't want to get in trouble. I mean, I love trouble, but Reno doesn't, so…

"Probably." Not that that seemed to bother him. Instead he decided to flip the lighter on and off between his fingers. It was kinda cool to watch actually. His fingers were quick. Really quick. And the fact that I'm a certified pyro probably helped with that little fascination…

Okay we were back to silence. No, no, and no. If I sound lame, I sound lame. Big deal.

"So, where did you move from?"

"T…Seoul." Liar. What had he been about to say?

"That explains the accent." He shrugged and took another drag before letting it just hang out of his mouth. He actually managed to pull off that look. Surprising…

"You like ShukketsuHatsu?" How did he…oh right…the shirt.

"Uh, yeah? They're my favorite. Why?"

He shrugged. "Not many people like Japanese music up here. You can't understand Japanese can you?" I shook my head. I wish.

"Do you like them?" He looked at me weirdly then. Only for a second. Then his gaze was that same cold again.

"Not anymore. They're popular where I'm from though." Hm.

"You don't mind if I listen to my ipod do you?" He shrugged in response. I'll take that as a yes.

I turned it to my one of my favorites. Actually it was my favorite. Partly because I wasn't supposed to have it. Rosuto Seijun (I think it meant lost innocence…) was something the band had planned on putting on the next cd. Never aired before. And yet Zexion had gotten it for me. I never asked how and I don't plan to.

I only had one earphone in, so we could still talk. I don't think Roxas noticed.

We were sitting side by side, and I noticed him looking at the screen, his eyes getting slightly bigger. That look disappeared. Quickly.

That's when he started to sing. Again, I don't think he realized I could hear him. And I know he couldn't hear the music, but he had started singing word for word what I was listening to. Perfectly. In fact…he sounded almost exactly like the lead…He stopped.

"Thought you said you didn't like them anymore."

"I don't. But that song is popular in Seoul. It's kinda hard not to let it get stuck in your head."

"That sounded pretty good though. Did you ever sing before?"

He shrugged, must be his answer for everything… "A little." Okay this was something we could work with.

"Okay, what about you singing for that stupid competition thing?" He had moved down a bleacher. When did he do that I wonder…

His head was tilted towards me. "And what would you do?"

"I can play guitar and I'm not too bad at singing myself." He seemed to think this over.

"I play guitar too." That would explain why he was quick fingered…

"Okay, so let's do a duet. Should we write the song, or just choose one?"

"We should probably write it…I get the feeling Mansex won't let us steal from any bands." Mansex? Nice. Maybe I could use that next time…

"Okay then…do you want to write it?" He nodded, thinking for a second.

"Yeah, but it probably won't sound good with only two guitars." Oh right. Not many songs could actually…hm…

"Well, my friend Larxene plays the drums, and Zexion has his keyboard. If they get paired together…" He got my point.

"You can ask them at lunch." Oh that's right, I had wanted to ask him…

"What was with you and Sora anyway?" His already stiff body (does this kid ever relax?) went even stiffer.

"I told you, I don't like people. But I just can't stand people who use stereotypes." Ah. Sora was trying to get all friendly by making us look like the bad guys and him and his group as saving angels. I made a rude noise.

"That's Sora all right." We stayed quiet for another five minutes or so, Roxas watching the world and me zoning out listening to my music.

"Why was your brother screaming at you this morning?"

"Did that wake you up?" He shook his head.

"Eh, I tend to blast my ears out at night so he was probably trying to be heard over my music…he could have just yanked the earphones from my head…probably would have saved him a lung." He made and "ah" sound and went back to ignoring me. There was another question nagging me.

"Why did you give me a ride? You had just said the other night that you didn't like people." He tilted his head back again.

"Because you needed one. Doesn't matter if I like you or not. I wouldn't say no if I didn't have a reason." Ah. So he'll help people out, but otherwise, will refrain from any contact he can. Interesting. Interestingly complicated.

The bell rang. Loud and proud. Oh how I would love to take a hammer to it…

Roxas was…gone. I guess that's the best way to put it. Now you see him, now you don't.

My next class was Chem.

Then lunch. I did a quick scan of the cafeteria. I spotted Roxas first. Wanna know how? He was the only one sitting at a group of tables in the back. And I mean the only one. I saw Demyx and Larxene next, about three tables away.

"Hey." I sat down on the other side of them, next to Zexion.

"Man, can you believe Xemnas? Throwing this project on us this early in the year." Larxene was always complaining, saying it was too early…even when we only had a month left of school sometimes.

"Who'd you get paired with?"

"Our class has an odd number, and either Xemnas is completely oblivious or we were really, really lucky but all three of us got out into a group." I smiled. This could work.

"Xemnas said we could join groups didn't he? Who's your partner?" One question at a time Dem…

I gave a pointed look at the little blonde a ways down. There seemed to be this cloud of hail right over him. I was actually just getting shivers by looking at him.

"You got stuck with the snowman? Damn man, I'm sorry." I shrugged at Larxene.

"He's really not that bad. Sure he's cold, but we didn't kill each other, and we might already have a thing to do for the competition. But we kinda need your help." I quickly told them about what me and Roxas had decided.

"An impromptu band? That could work. What was it that you played again Demy?"

"Sitar!" He said it with so much reverence you had to wonder if he had mixed the thing up with a god.

"Right. And Roxas can sing, with me and him with guitars, Larxene with her drums and Zexion with his keyboard."

"Are you sure he can sing?" Pretty damn sure. The lyrics to the song he had sung were as of yet the most confusing I had ever heard. Even someone who spoke Japanese would have problems with it. If Roxas could sing it without stumbling on a word while keeping the tune and beat, I'm pretty sure he could sing well enough for this stupid project.

"So all we have to do now is wait for him to write the song. I'll go tell him." I caught Demy's sleeve.

"Maybe I should, hm?" Demy looked at me, confused for a second, before looking back to the imaginary hail storm going on above Roxas' head. He nodded quickly.

"Sure."

I laughed in my head. Demy is easily frightened. Very easily.

I sat down across from Roxas. He didn't even notice. He wasn't even really eating, just picking at it.

"So what'd they say? They okay doing the project with the snowman?" I nearly fell over.

"How did you…?"

"Know that blonde girl called me that?" I nodded dumbly. He hadn't even looked up at me yet.

"I have good hearing. And she's loud." That she is…that she is.

"I'm sure she didn't mean it, but Larxene is one to hold a grudge. Just ignore her." He just shrugged, finally looking up at me.

"I'm used to it. So give me a day or two and I'll have your song." Okay then.

"Okay, and we can practice at Zexion's place." Zexion's family…we'll just say they're filthy stinkin rich. Meaning they had this huge house. And also meaning, they let us use their house since his parents were never there.

Roxas nodded. And that was about it. We were quiet for another five minutes before he got up suddenly and left.

Well…bye…

"So, we a go?" Demyx give me a sec to sit down.

"He said he's need about one or two days to write the song. Can we practice at your place Zex?" He made an unintelligible sound and went back to reading his book.

"Okay then, we're all set."

* * *

The only time I don't want to smash the bell is when it sounds at the end of the day.

I walked to the parking lot, completely forgetting I had no car. At least, I had forgotten, but that hole in my memory was quickly filled.

"Aw shit. Hey Demyx can you give me a ride?"

"Sorry, I have work, and I already have to drop Zex off as well." Demyx worked in a Vet's clinic as a…errand boy? He basically did what they told him to. Zexion was much the same, but in the public library. And both those places were across town.

"Larxene?" She shook her head.

"Gotta head to the airport to pick up my mom. She's coming back from Japan today."

Double shit.

I watched them as they drove off, all in the opposite direction of my apartment.

I sighed before I felt something hit my chest and land in my arms. It was a helmet.

"I'm not gonna stay here all day. Get on." I looked up. Roxas had thrown the helmet. Cool!

* * *

We got to the complex the second it started raining.

Roxas pulled a cover from the ground nearby and put it over the bike. We walked up the stairs together, completely ignoring the others presence.

I dug around in my pockets for my keys…come on! How can my luck be that bad?! Especially since I was getting soaked standing here. I pounded both fists on the door in frustration. Dammit Reno!

I looked over my shoulder. Roxas was staring at me again.

"Let me guess. Forgot your keys?" I nodded.

"Well come on." He opened his door and went inside, leaving me more than a little confused.

He poked his head around the door a second later.

"Do you want to catch a cold?" No! You could've been a bit more clear though…

I shook my head and followed him in.

"Oh and this is Hoshii." Who?

That got answered quickly. Just as quickly as I was on the floor, with a giant, and I mean giant dog on top of me.

"Shi-shi!..." I couldn't understand the rest. He had switched languages.

The dog got off me immediately. That's when I noticed the marks on my shirt. They weren't ripped through, but it was a close thing.

"Exactly what is he?" That's when I actually got a good look at the dog. It looked to be about two foot if a bit taller. Damn. The dog was huge. And Roxas was tiny. And yet by the looks of it, there was no question who the master was. The shrimp.

"She. Hoshii is an Akita, and even for her type she's big. She didn't rip your shirt did she?" That's also when I noticed the dog's expression. I backed up. The dog was silently snarling at me. "Hoshii…" Language switch again.

The dog stopped snarling. "One sec." I nodded, still trying not to move and cause the dog to attack me.

He led the dog down what I assumed was a hall and disappeared.

I stayed where I was in the doorway but tried to see what I could of my mysterious neighbor's apartment.

It had the exact same set up as mine, just mirrored. The kitchen was to my left instead of my right, the living room right beyond that. There was nothing particularly interesting…except the huge flat screen TV in the living room. Either this kid was loaded, a thief, or lucky.

"Sorry about her. She doesn't like new people." Sound familiar?

"Is there any reason she doesn't or is she just an antisocial dog?" That'd be a new one.

"Her last owners tried to drown her. When that didn't work, they put her to dog fights. She still has some of those scars actually." Wow. Tough life…

"Then how did you get her?"

"Are you going to stand in the doorway freezing to death or are you coming in?" My sweater was soaked through. And so was my shirt actually…I guess these things just get forgotten if your staring down a 120 lb dog.

I stripped my sweater and shirt off, giving them to a waiting Roxas. He threw a blanket at me.

"The living room is a hell of a lot warmer than the doorway." Oh right…that's the what? Third time he's told me to come in. I wrapped the blanket around me and followed him into the living room.

There was a couch and two chairs spread in a semi-circle around the TV. I chose the couch.

"Thanks." I was still shivering but it wasn't as harsh.

"For what?" He had moved to the kitchen. Silent as always.

"Uh, one giving me a ride. Two giving me another ride. And three, not making me stand outside while I wait for my brother to get home."

"Oh." That was all he said.

"Check your phone." That was sudden. Um…okay? Where was my phone?

Something hit me in the head.

"Ow! Did ya have to throw it?" I practically heard him shrug. I ignored it and checked my phone.

One text from Reno.

**Yo, Ax, I'm not gonna be home tonight! Srry! Cya 2morow!**

**-Reno**

It took all my will not to throw the thing across the room.

"How did you know?" I think I heard the plastic casing on my phone crack.

"Your brother is very loud." That would explain it. It was silent, except for the occasional sound form Roxas in the kitchen.

"I have an extra room I'm not using if you want to stay here."

"Huh? Oh. Thanks..." Why was he being so nice all of a sudden? One moment he's this cold ice demon the next he's…I don't even know what to call him. Sure the cold front was still up but, it seemed to me like even that was melting. Little by little.

And maybe I was getting sick.

Eh I'll just see how the night goes.

* * *

Dislcaimer: Me own nothing. Nothing nothing nothing! If i did...eh, there' no point in wishing...

A/N: Yay! Second chappy! Remember guys this is my fisrst fanfic, so if it sucs i'm sorry. Please review! Reviewing gives me courage to keep writing! And i really need that courage. And reviews give me something to be happy about and who doesn't like being happy? Thank you!


	3. Mi Casa No Su Casa

A/N: Hi people! Thanks for the lovely reviews! Okay this a/n is not just to say thank you, but to alert people who actually care about this story (to which i owe those people my sanity) to a change. I said at the beginning in the add on to my summary that there would be mentioned RoxasxHayner in the pairings. **I'm changing that to mentioned RoxasxSeifer**. I know it's weird, but it fits better and when i wrote the roxas and hayner thing i didn't think far enough ahead to realize the problem with that. So i formally apologize to people who like the pairing but beleive me, you wouldn't like it later anway. So yeah! Thanx for sticking with my story!

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_Axel's POV_

"Make yourself at home." He disappeared down that hall again. So much for the melting thing.

I sat there for about five minutes, trying to figure out where the remote was (I was sitting on it actually) before some music floated into the room. It was quiet and haunting. Sad and soulful.

So Roxas really could play. And…damn well. Hell of a lot better than I was. Sure I could play with the best of them, but I couldn't do anything so…emotional.

Should I check it out? Hell no. He probably had that dog…what was its name? Hoshii…or something like that. Then again…that computer that I just noticed in the corner did look inviting. And I didn't want to use it without his permission.

I walked down the hall, blanket still wrapped tightly around me. Okay so maybe his apartment wasn't exactly like mine. Mine only had two bedrooms. His had three. I listened to each door, trying to pick out where the noise was coming from.

The last door in the hall. I knocked. No answer, but the music never stopped. What the hell? I mentally shrugged and opened the door.

And there was Roxas, hanging over the back of his bed, his guitar upside down with him. His eyes were closed but I noticed a pencil and an open notebook on the bed.

I stood there listening for a couple more minutes. Then he noticed that him and the dog (now asleep thank god) weren't the only ones in the room.

"Yes?" Now it was my turn to pause. I had been too intent on listening that I kinda hadn't noticed it had stopped.

"Uh. Yeah. Can I use your computer?" He nodded. Okay then.

"Thanks." He nodded again. His eyes nearly screamed at me to leave. And the dog was moving. Goodbye.

His computer was new, a hell of a lot better than my beat up one. Don't get me wrong, I loved my computer but this one was so…shiny…

I decided to check out the gossip. If you haven't figured it out yet, I am a hard core SH fan. And like any other fan, the favorite topic was the lead singer's true name. No one knew. He just disappeared after every concert or other band event. And the fact that the only things that never changed about him were his voice, his height, and his sunglasses didn't help either.

There was a rumor recently that he was some kid named Roxas Ukahara. Hey that's my neighbor's name…After a bit of research I had found out that the kid was the second heir to the biggest company in Japan, and one of the richest family's in Asia. The only pictures I could find of him were on magazines (normally flipping the photographer off) or security photos of him in random bars and clubs (also flipping off the cameras).

He actually looked a lot like the Roxas here. But anyway, he had been interviewed plenty of times and each time it was brought up, the kid would say it wasn't him and flip off the interviewer for emphasis. And when they asked his father, the man would just laugh and say something to the extent of, "Who? My son? You're joking right?"

The kid was a stuck up brat through and through. And guess what? I only had to read about five interviews to come to that conclusion.

It would have helped if the other members of the band (only three other people actually. Hayner Kataki, Yuffie Amai, and Seifer Akuto) would tell, but their lips were sealed.

The lead singer went by Hikage. I think it meant sunshine…and shadow…

There was no more news. Except…Hikage hadn't appeared at the last concert. It had been two days ago in Tokyo. Well…that's interesting. The article said he just never showed up. Even the rest of the band was confused.

"Hikage never showed up huh?" I jumped. Literally. And landed on my ass. I looked up at the now-taller-than-me Roxas.

"Do you have to be silent all the time?" He, you guessed it, shrugged.

"I'm going to bed, there's an air mattress set up in the first room on the left." I nodded my thanks and he left again.

I turned off the computer and turned on the TV, putting it as quiet as I could.

There was nothing on. And I'm not exaggerating. The only crap on were these retarded bimbo movies…without the bimbos. Oh well, the news wasn't _too_ boring.

"And tomorrow, the storm is expected to double in intensity for the entire day before leaving. Thursday is expected to be a warm sunny day…" I muted it. Shit. Shit. And double shit. No I don't like rain. And if the storm that was already rattling the door got bigger, Reno was not going to risk driving home. I was stuck here. Roxas is not going to be happy…then again, he never is…

* * *

Yeah. What I said about the news not being too boring? Absolute bull. I fell asleep halfway through the sports reports. There's only so much fake enthusiasm I can take.

Wanna know why I was up? Food. I may sleep, but my stomach never does. Roxas was either cooking or microwaving something. Either way, it smelled good and I was practically floating to the kitchen.

I paused in the door. Let's reflect for a moment shall we? Roxas had only ever worn (past two days anyway) turtlenecks and jeans. His attitude or something just seemed to scream "you cannot make me wear short sleeves" or "you try to take my sleeves, I'll try to take your throat". Not right now.

There he was, watching the microwave, in nothing more than a pair of jeans and just visible black boxers. It was actually a very…no, no, I will not go there. I'm not my brother. Sure, I'm gay, but not so…noticeably…My brother? Care Bear pajamas. Nuff said.

As soon as such thoughts were banished to a small corner of my head (most likely to reappear with a vengeance later) I began to notice things.

Like eight diagonal scars that ran across his shoulder blades. They were faded and hard to see but they were there. There was another long scar around his (remarkably slim) hips. I mentally slapped myself for that extra thought. This one wasn't as straight as the others. And it looked newer. That must have been painful.

And guess what? I took all of that in, in about ten seconds before I caught sight of the most interesting one yet. Around his neck, hooking just below the jaw-line (I guessed that part, because, of course, I couldn't see it.) It looked like a braided rope burn. The type of burn that practically tattoos the pattern of the rope into the skin.

I had one myself. Around my wrist. Demyx. Don't ask. But mine wasn't nearly that…ragged. How did that happen?

It was more bruise like than anything, and it stood out like a sore thumb against his pale…deathly pale skin.

It then occurred to me that maybe he wouldn't want me to see those things. Right? I mean, if you take the time to hide it under clothes, you probably don't want it seen. At least I wou…what's that? I took a closer look…well, I looked harder without actually moving anywhere.

He had just turned the underside of his arm towards me a little bit more. Were those…?

He started turning, I disappeared. Best let him think that I hadn't seen anything.

I waited another four minutes before "getting up" again. With more noise so he would know I was coming. If he doesn't try to cover up then I'm allowed to see them, if not, he'll at least still have his peace of mind.

When I walked into the kitchen again, this time with him fully aware, he was yet again wearing a turtleneck. He must have put one on the counter or something just for this moment.

"Good morning!" It wasn't too hard for me to fake enthusiasm. When I wake up, I'm immediately on a high from something. I think it's the air around here, but it takes me awhile to get back to being "normal".

"School was canceled and most of the roads are flooded out, including the parking lot." No good morning?

I kinda just stood there. "I'm heading out for a little bit. Hoshii is locked up in the first room on the right so she won't be a problem."

Wait. Didn't he just say the roads were flooded out? He looked at me then, seeming to just notice exactly where I was standing.

"I said most of the roads, and I need to pick up something in the next city. The storm is only over this area, it should clear up out that way." So saying he grabbed a set of keys I just noticed and walked out into the storm, pulling the door shut with obvious effort.

_Ten minutes later…_

What to do…what to do…here I am stuck in my antisocial neighbors house, with nothing on TV and the storm of the century outside…hm…

And that's when SH's Messed Up Love started playing. This was the one song I basically knew all the words to. Partially because most of the words were cuss words. And believe it or not, it was a love song. A really screwed up one, but one none the less. This was also one of the ones that actually sounded like it was made in America in the English version too…

Anyway, that was my ringtone. Yes I have a love song for a ringtone. But again, it's so screwed up it takes awhile for anyone to realize it is a love song.

Shit. Where the hell was my phone?!

_Two minutes and much cursing and fumbling on Axel's part later…_

I had gotten a text from Demyx. Make that twenty texts. And about thirty failed ones. How those twenty had gotten through with the wrath of God outside, was a miracle in itself.

I only had to look at about five to know the rest would be the same. Shortened and Demyx dramatics removed, it basically asked where the hell was I.

Oh. Oops…I had forgotten to tell them hadn't I?

Instead of trying to text him back, I decided to see if there was any internet connection.

What do ya know, there was. Miracle after miracle…And what a surprise, Demyx was on (private chat-room that only me, Demyx, Zexion, and Larxene knew the password too). As was Larxene and Zexion.

**PryoDemon: **_**logged on**_

**SugarFreak: AXEL?! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!**

**DarkestSilence: Demyx, calm down**

**NinjaDrummer: But, where have you been Axel? Demyx is over here freaking out! And its giving me a headache!!**

**PyroDemon: Yo I got locked out of my house and Reno being the prick he is hasn't come home yet I'm at Roxas' house where are you guys anyway?**

**NinjaDrummer: Zexy's house, on his three computers**

**DarkestSilence: don't call me Zexy…**

**NinjaDrummer: deal with it**

**PyroDemon: anyway, I'm here at Roxas' house till Reno gets back, and with this storm, the internets likely to black out so I'm gonna go Cya!!**

**PyroDemon: **_**logged off**_

Well that was taken care of. Now again the ever present question about what to do.

Why not explore? Roxas had told me to make myself at home…So why not?

I decided to start with the room that he had set up for me (that I had never gotten too).

It looked to be his storage room. It was filled with boxes on one side and a bed on the other. My clothes that he had taken to dry were laid out on the bed.

All this from an Ice Demon? The definition of confusing just got changed in my head. No instead of it being Zexion, it was Roxas.

The nest room over was the bathroom and then on the right at the far end was his room. Would he mind if I just looked around? Probably not. And okay I'll admit it, Roxas interested me. After two days of knowing him, he had made me curious.

I hadn't gotten a good look at it last night when I had heard him play. There was a queen sized bed in the corner with a desk beside it. At the foot of the bed was a mess of pillows. Probably Hoshii's bed.

The walls were covered in papers. Some where pictures, some were lyrics, and still others looked like poetry. Of the written stuff, only about a quarter were in English. This kid was a regular artist. Strange. He didn't hit me as the type.

One drawing in particular caught my eye. Partially because it was the largest and wasn't finished yet.

It was on a huge piece of paper, in the center of the wall farthest from the bed. It wasn't completely shaded yet, but the center piece was nearly done.

It was what looked to be an angel. The entire body was gray against the black background. Even the wings seemed to be melting into the darkness. It's hands were folded over it's chest, mummy style.

There were only two points of color in the entire thing. One was the red gaping hole where the angel's heart had apparently been torn out. Okay then. Creepy. The second was the eye. Only the left eye showed, leaving the other half of the face in shadow like the rest of the body. The eye itself was red, no pupil, no whites, just red.

Except for the fact that it was really creepy, I kinda liked it. The other pictures on the walls were all shaded, no color, except for maybe a splash here and there. And they all seemed to have a recurring theme of an angel or a person in darkness.

And the mystery deepens.

I spotted his guitar propped up in the corner, next to the desk that was also covered in papers. None of which were in English. I looked at them briefly.

Okay. I may not know what Korean looks like, but I do know what Japanese looks like (staring at Japanese writing on cds will at least give you the ability to recognize some of it) This was Japanese.

Okay I know Roxas could speak Japanese (how could you sing that song without being able to?) but that does not automatically mean he's Japanese right? I'm sure many people can write in Korean and Japanese.

And with that, I forgot the matter completely.

Nothing else about the room caught my eye (but I swear the eye of the angel followed me on my way out!)

There was only one more door. I dried the knob. It opened easily.

Wait…didn't Roxas say Hoshii was locked up in the…first…room…

Too late. I had already swung the door open.

I quickly wondered if I was standing in a beam of golden light. Hoshii was asleep in the center of the room…and it seemed like she was planning to stay that way for a long time.

I looked at the dog more closely (now that it wasn't thinking about tearing me to pieces) My earlier assessment of her being huge…still correct. She was on her back revealing her pale belly.

Roxas had said she still had some scars but…they still shook me. Her entire stomach was a crisscrossing array of scars that varied in color from silvery white to pink. I began to feel some sympathy for the dog. I wouldn't trust new people either if I had gone through what she had.

And now I'm thinking about the life of a dog…any sign that I need a life?

When I was sure for the fourteenth time that she had accepted sleeping as being the better choice over waking and tearing my throat out, I looked around the room.

One word. Fucking scary. Okay two words but…ya get the point.

The walls were covered in black cloth, and on top of that black cloth were magazine articles. They were in Japanese but there were plenty of pictures too. The pictures were of SH mostly.

Pictures that showed the band relaxing after a show or out on the town, like normal teenagers. In several of the pictures I noticed that Hikage and Seifer were always standing side by side, normally with Seifer's arm around the smaller boy's waist.

And that's when my eyes caught sight of the wall the door was located on. It was all pictures of Seifer and Hikage, with a few spread around of Seifer with…I took a closer look…Roxas? It couldn't be. The boy at Seifer's side was smiling. His eyes practically shouting with happiness.

In quiet a couple Hikage and Seifer were making out, and flipping off the camera at the same time. Same with Seifer and the other boy. I took another look at the boy. That was Roxas. No doubt about it. Same eyes, same height, same hair…

(Notice how the fact that Hikage and Seifer were a couple didn't really affect me. I was gay too so I had no issue with other gays…anyway, just thought I'd make that clear.)

How the hell did Roxas get pictures of Hikage and Seifer together?...and probably even more confusing, how the hell had Roxas hooked up with Seifer?!

I turned around, trying to think a little bit easier. It was kinda creepy how those pictures covered the entire wall.

…But not nearly as creepy as what was right across from it on the other wall.

It looked to be a shrine. The only thing on it though was a framed picture that I couldn't really see from where I stood.

I made my way towards it, taking a probably unnecessarily long path around Hoshii.

It wasn't a picture. It was a note. Or something. Again I can't read Japanese… Korean…whatever it was.

And as it turns out, it wasn't the only thing. Right below it (sharing the same frame) _was_ a picture.

It showed a girl. She couldn't have been more than sixteen. But…damn…she was beautiful. This coming from a guy who doesn't even like girls.

Her blonde hair was swept up in a side ponytail, and she looked like she was at the beach or something. Her eyes were smiling wider than her mouth. If you could tell that through a picture, you got to wonder what her actual expression must have been like.

That's when I noticed it. Her eyes, her hair, even her skin and build…Roxas. There was no mistaking the resemblance.

A sister or something? Without being able to read the script above I might never know.

Before I left, I saw another picture. It was of Roxas, when he was fourteen it looked like. Beside him was another blonde boy. Much taller, more heavily built. I wonder who that is…

I left quickly after that. The room seemed to scream secrecy. Roxas would probably freak if he knew I had gone in there…not that he'll ever find out.

I'd only known him for two days and already he had me more confused than I had ever been. And I do not like to be confused.

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Disclaimer: Yeah. I own nothing. If I did. it would probably be the worst game/story out there or i would immediately transfer ownership to my friend. So, me own nothing and never will (except this story)

A/N: I said it at the beginning but i will say it again, thank you for the reviews! i know it's not alot to many people but to me those few reviews represent my ability to overcome my fear of posting this...or something cheesy like that. Oh and please don't kill me if the next chapter is a little slow in coming. I will try to write quickly, but i did that on this chapter and i got the crap you just read. I'm trying to finish another story i'm writing with a friend, so i'm basically writing two stories. That is the only thing keeping me from this one i swear! But thank you to those willing to stick with this story! Please review and all that jazz, reviews make my world go round!


	4. Angels Are Real

A/N: hi people! This is up alot sooner than i thought it would be! (a whole lot) But anyway's thank you to those who reviewed (and those who yelled at me for my last author's note, i will let you know that i thank you for hammering some sense into my head) so anyways thanx! and here ya go!

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_Axel's POV_

I had decided that to save my sanity, I would explore Roxas' immense collection of cd's and movies

I had decided that to save my sanity, I would explore Roxas' immense collection of cd's and movies.

Not surprisingly, almost none of them were in English. Oh sure the titles and summaries were, but they were almost all Japanese. Not one Korean one actually…hm…

And hello…what's this? I pulled out one that's case looked slightly more used than the others. There were two actually.

One was Matilda. I practically laughed at that. I loved the story myself when I was younger. I mean who couldn't love a story about a girl who outwits a demon of a headmistress using powers of the mind?

The other was one called Tuck Everlasting. I hadn't heard of it so I read the back.

It was a…freaking love story. I looked over a few of the other Japanese ones again. Quiet a few were love stories. It looked like there were two main groups of movies he owned actually. Either love stories (yuck) or stories that resembled a dark version of Matilda. And most of them didn't look like they had happy endings…

Okay then…onto the cds.

There were all five of the SH cds, including the one supposed to come out next month. How did he get that?! It was supposed to go worldwide in three weeks…wait…Stolen Innocence was on that cd…and he said that it was a popular song where he was from. That was a lie. That song had never been aired, and wouldn't be until the cd came out.

So unless he's as good a hacker as Zexion (unlikely)…how the…? How'd he get the cd is what I'm wondering…

I looked briefly through the rest. A few more Asian bands, and quiet a few American ones. To name a few, Linkin Park, Anberlin…I'm gonna stop there. We'll just say his music taste fell under the emo classification.

Okay. Let's try some safe TV shall we?

I looked at the clock…and nearly fell on my ass again. It was six. In the evening. Roxas had left at around eleven. I had been exploring Roxas' house for seven hours. Which meant Roxas should be home soon…

I flicked on the TV and managed to put it on a movie just as I heard the door open. The movie ended up being Resident Evil. The first one I think. Oh well, zombies work.

Roxas was literally soaking wet. His hair was dripping, as were his clothes. He had a towel in his hands but, he seemed more content to hold the thing instead of use it.

I figured out why a second later. He handed it to me, mumbling something about him needing to change.

Puppies. Two of them. And believe it or not, I knew what they were. Partially because one of their cousins had tried to tear my hair from my head. And they happened to be one of Demyx's favorites…why? I really don't know.

And it's really hard to mistake a rottweiler for anything else. Is Roxas attracted to vicious breeds or are they attracted to him? Sure these two were small and cute now…but just wait a year or two…

Roxas came back out wearing the signature black turtleneck and a pair of black lounge pants (three guesses what his favorite color was…and the first two don't count). His hair looked a little mussed up, probably from toweling dry, but otherwise, it was as straight as ever.

The puppies had been sleeping, but as he took them back (with no argument from me) they began to squeak and whine.

Roxas seemed to totally forget I was there. He literally turned into a mother hen, making calming noises and practically rocking them as he walked around.

And surprisingly, they did calm down. He sat down and gently unwrapped them from the towel.

One rolled out and landed with his face on the ground, his tail up in the air. It was really cute. The other one practically strode from the towel, full of puppy pride. Complete opposites these two.

Oh and another piece of evidence that Roxas had forgotten I was there? He let Hoshii out.

I went still, hoping that she would ignore me. No such luck.

The dog came over to me slowly, head lowered. Was she actually…

I put my hand out, palm up. She stopped for a second before coming forward again. I could just barely brush her nose with my fingertips. She sniffed my hand, before her head shot up. I tried to ignore the warning bells in my head.

She instantly became more relaxed, and even pushed her head into my hand. I obliged and scratched her head.

Well. That was unexpected.

Roxas wasn't reacting, but I swear his lips weren't as tight. Was that a shadow of a smile?! Maybe, maybe not…I'll take what I could get though.

That's when Hoshii noticed the two little fuzz balls on the ground. She didn't growl. She didn't bark. She just looked at them with curiosity.

Then Roxas chose to speak. Making everyone but the puppies jump.

"Now for names…hm…" He picked up the black one (the other one was brown). This was the one that had strode out from the towel like he owned the world.

"How about Taiyou…that should fit…" He was talking to himself.

"What does it mean?" Now it was Roxas' turn to jump. Yes I'm still here. He thought for a second, as though considering not to answer.

"It means sun in Japanese." Ah. That fits.

"What does Hoshii mean?" I hadn't thought about it, but now that I did, I realized Hoshii wasn't English. Yes I'm a bit slow on small details…

"Hoshii means wanted in Japanese." Hm…why would he name her that? Oh well, thoughts for another time maybe…I was getting more and more of those lately.

The newly named Taiyou licked Roxas' nose. This time, there was no shadow. He smiled (me probably being forgotten again).

It was…beautiful. His smile was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. Yes that was completely sappy, but…you'd have to see him. It transformed his face so intensely…His face didn't look harsh anymore. Roxas looked like a little kid almost.

If he changed so totally from such a small smile, what would happen if he really smiled? The thought was there before I could really think about it. As in, poof, it's there.

He put down Taiyou and picked up the other one.

"Let's see…you shall be…Tsuki. It means moon." Roxas is a mind reader. I had been about to ask what it meant.

So, Sun and Moon for the little ones. They were complete opposites. It fit.

Both of the puppies gave huge yawns. Again with the cuteness. Now it was Hoshii's turn to get involved.

She bit the scruff of Taiyou's neck and carried him off down the hall. She came back a second late and did the same to Tsuki.

"So you like dogs, but not people?" He was still looking down the hall (the smile long gone…I don't think he realized he had smiled at all).

"Dogs won't hurt you on purpose." Okay. I'm not going to question that. He didn't look like he would answer it anyway.

"Okay, so why did you have to go to the next city to pick those two up."

"I met a woman who was shutting down her pet store a few days ago. She only had those two left, and no one was going to buy them. Something about most people not liking the breed." I wonder why.

"I told her I'd be back in a few days to pick them up." Okay then. So you faced the wrath of god to pick up a pair of fuzz balls? Interesting.

"Oh and the storm has gone back down to normal proportions. It's supposed to die down completely by tomorrow morning. You might want to call your brother." Well…I did as I was told, hoping that his ringtone sounded right in the middle of a very important conversation.

Reno's ringtone was Barbie Girl. And believe it or not, he didn't put it on there. I did. Long story short, he had made me mad, and that was my payback.

And Reno is completely useless with phones, so he couldn't figure out how to get rid of it.

Of course, he tries to hurt me every time his phone rings, but it's worth it to see other people's expressions.

He answered after the second ring.

"Yo?"

"Reno. Are you coming home tonight?"

"Hello to you too Axel…and yeah I'll be home tonight. I'll be there around eleven alright? Where have you been staying anyway? I got about twenty thousand calls from Demyx alone asking where you were."

"I'm at Roxas' house since I forgot my keys. He let me stay over last night." I could practically hear Reno grinning.

"Reno…you make one perverted comment and I swear to you, your hair will be purple before the week is out." Reno's one love (besides ) was his hair. He was as vain as hell about it. And he hated the color purple with a passion. I heard a "meep" on the other end.

"Fine. Roxas won't mind you staying over for a few more hours will he? Great. Bai-bai!" Reno was too gay for his own good…

"Yo Roxas? Reno said…"

"He'd be home around eleven. I heard." Heh. He did say Reno was loud. I guess I was just used to it.

"Hoshii didn't bother you did she?" Nice try Roxy…oh whoa…I did not just call him that…I shook my head (inside my head). Anyway. Even a dolt like me could see that he was asking if I had gone in that room. Then again…I might not have caught it if I hadn't been in there…

"No. She was quiet." He must have been sighing in his head.

"Good. I'll be in my room if you need me." He was damn fast for a freakin midget. I thought vaguely back to the thing at the football bleachers where he had disappeared just as quickly.

"Roxas?" I heard a 'hm?' from the hall.

"You don't mind if I watch one of your movies do you?"

"I told you to make yourself at home." Well okay then.

I let Resident Evil play out before choosing Matilda and putting it in.

* * *

A knock at the door woke me up. Huh? Oh. Apparently I had fallen asleep while watching Matilda. Which meant…it was now eleven.

It was probably Reno at the door. Meaning I had no issues making him wait another minute or two while I went to say thank you to Roxas.

I silently opened his door, incase he was asleep.

And he was.

If it was possible for someone to melt I think I just did. Come on, this was too cute.

Roxas was asleep on his side on top of his covers with either Taiyou or Tsuki (too dark to tell) tucked below his chin and the other one right against his stomach. Hoshii had her head resting on his side.

But Roxas…is it against the law to be that cute? He looked so…innocent, I guess is the best way to put it. His face practically glowed. And it looked so out of place in the gloom of the room. So different from the unforgiving face he had when he was awake.

I resisted the urge to go over to him. He would probably kill me if I did. So instead I did the next best thing.

_click _thank the lord for camera phones. Of course, if Roxas ever saw this, I get the feeling that I would regret ever having been born, but you know what? It was worth it. It's not often you see angels.

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Disclaimer: Yadda yadda, you know i own nothing. I know i own nothing. The whole world knows i own nothing.

A/N: Hallo! Thank you so much for dealing with my terrible writing. And i'm so sorry this chapter is so short, but i liked how the ending sounded and it just didn't feel right to add on to it. So yeah, you can thank my absent minded brain for this very quick update. Please review! You never know if the reviews might make me type faster! Thanx!


	5. What is Friendship?

A/N: Okay you people are going to hate me for this but...nvm, you'll figure out why youre gonna hate me in a few minutes. I'm going to apologize now and go to find my shield and hide...Thanx for the reviews!

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The boy was dreaming again, thrashing in his sleep.

Dreaming? No. Having a nightmare is a better term.

The creature by his side, well accustomed to its master's fits, gently removed the little ones from harm, knowing from experience not to wake the boy.

_The face above him, he always saw it. He was scared of this expression the most. Head thrown back, eyes closed, mouth hung open._

_Another splitting pain. Oh how the boy wished he would be torn in half. With each thrust from the sweating man above him, the pain inside him shot up his spine, almost masking the pain of the flesh on his shoulders being split by the blunt fingernails dug there._

_There were others in the room. Staring at the boy upon the bed, waiting to take their part of the boy. Their part of his soul._

_The faces around him disappeared as the one above him changed. Now the one above him was another boy. Now it was someone he loved. Someone who loved him._

_Shouldn't the pain be different if there was that buffer of the heart?_

_It wasn't. But the boy did this willingly. He was told he was loved, and so he gave himself over, body and soul._

_That's what you were supposed to do for someone you loved. Right?_

Roxas shot up, a scream lodged in his throat. That scream quickly faded into a sob that racked his body. And even that died soon. He was getting better at it. Silencing himself.

The room suddenly felt close. And hot.

The blonde began taking off his sweater planning on going outside for a few minutes.

_Axel._ Roxas remembered being surprised when the red head had come out that night. He couldn't risk letting anyone see what lined his back…and his arms.

After a moment of thought, the window in the living room was decided over actually going outside.

As he walked from his room, shirt now forgotten on the bed, he noticed Hoshii and the pups curled in the pillows at the foot of his bed.

His only thought was how Hoshii suffered each time his dreams became too much to handle. Each time his memories took hold of his sleeping mind as they had his waking life.

It was too quiet, even with the window open to the midnight (3 AM) traffic.

He turned on the radio by the TV, being too drawn to pick a cd.

The song that was playing slowly filtered into the room.

Another sob hit the boy. Then another. Soon, tears followed. He didn't stop them. What was the point? As long as the song was playing, he would have to listen. It echoed in his mind as he let his tears and sobs lead him down a number road. Not quite sleep, but the best he was going to get…

_Back when I was a child  
Before life removed all the innocence  
My father would lift me high  
And dance with my mother and me and then  
Spin me around till I fell asleep  
Then up the stairs he would carry me  
And I knew for sure I was loved…_

…

(A/N if you have not heard "Dance With my Father" by Luther Vandross, it is an amazing and heart wrenching son.)

* * *

_Axel's POV_

"Took you bloody long enough." I grumbled as I silently closed Roxas' door behind me.

"What? I'm here aren't I? And speaking of which…Nothing happened while I was gone did it?" Any _normal_ person with a _normal_ brother might have taken that question differently. Not me…

I tried to hit him on the head, missed (he's fast alright?!) and settled for kicking him the shins.

"What? Is it wrong for me to ask?" The kick had barely fazed him…probably because I hadn't really tried…oh well.

"Yes. Half the time Roxas was gone anyway and the other half he might as well have been." Reno "oh"-d and went to our door, unlocking it.

Thank you god. It felt good to be in my own room again. With its tiny bed in the corner surrounded by a mess of clothes, papers, cds, general trash…and I think there was a pizza slice in here somewhere…anyways…

I flopped down on my bed with every intention of falling asleep in under a minute.

Hah. I swear my own brain laughed at me.

The minute the lights were out, my mind's eye was moved back to Roxas.

The boy was beyond strange. Cold towards people and yet a puppy could make him smile. A Korean who apparently prefers writing and singing in Japanese (he might be Japanese but until he says something I'm going to assume he was telling the truth about the Korea thing…).

An artist who rides a motorcycle. That alone wasn't weird, but when I pictured artists I saw minivans or trucks painted weird colors. His taste in music seemed to fit, but Matilda? Tuck Everlasting? Ugh…it was making my brain hurt.

* * *

Reno needs to go to hell. Hell where there are no gays and the uniforms are the brightest ugliest purple. And where he's forced to listen to someone wake him up and be forced to see them in all their morning glory.

Reno was at the moment standing above me with his Spongebob Squarepants pajama pants (my brother collects little kid things if that's not obvious by now. How he gets them in his size is beyond me…) hanging low on his hips with his boxers showing, also slung low.

We'll just end there saying it was not something I needed to see in the morning…or any time of the day.

"Get up lazy ass! You're gonna be late."

"Do I get the car today?" I sat up, trying in vain to stare my taller brother down (we're actually the same height but he was standing and I wasn't…).

"Am I dressed?" Regrettably, no. Which meant the car was all mine.

"About bloody time!" I pushed him out of my room, grabbed a random shirt and jeans, my Ipod, my keys (this time with every intention of using them) and headed out.

Reno was knocked out on the couch. Him and his boyfriend must have had some fun if Reno was still tired…whoa…okay….back up. I did not need to be thinking that about my brother…

The morning was nice, just like that dude on the TV had said it would be. You could still smell the storm though. It woke me up quiet nicely.

Roxas came out. I almost took a step back. Almost. He seemed to be stuck in an almost visible shadow. And thunderstorm. And he looked like he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep last night. His eyes were red-rimmed and his clothes looked (black jeans and a white turtleneck actually) thrown on.

In short. Complete opposite from the untouchable Roxas of the past two days.

He walked right past me, the air around him seeming to freeze.

I stood there for a few minutes, even after he had disappeared into the parking lot and then drove out again on his bike. What happened?

* * *

Did I mention I hate Xemnas…I hope I did…

Roxas never showed up for class…not that Xemnas noticed of course.

"There are several categories that you may choose from. Music, art, etc. Each one is separated into three other categories. Singles, for those who do not have me, doubles, and groups. If you know what you're going to do, please sign on the pieces of paper on the door when you leave class today. The rest of this hour is for you and your partner. The door is open if you want to leave but I have alerted the school police force so don't even think of leaving the school grounds"

When Xemnas glares like that, you do what he says…while at the same time wondering how the he did it.

Oh how I loathed this part.

I walked up to Xemnas' desk.

"Uh…heh…Yeah, my partner's not here…" Xemnas shut me up with a glance. What? He was scary man! At least he was until Roxas' nickname for him popped in my head. Mansex. Now instead of trying to hide my fear I think I was trying to hide my laughter.

"He's here. I think he said he would be in the gym. Now leave me in peace." With that, his swivel chair (yes Mansex has a swivel chair), swiveled to where it was blocking out the rest of the nearly empty classroom.

The gym? Why would he be there?

Okay one thing you need to know about our gym. It's not like those large court gyms they have in other schools (although we do have one of those just it's in another building). It's a rock climbing/weightlifting/inside track/karate mats/aerobic gym. Yeah. Basically what you get when you go your local gym.

The sign outside the door said the entire gym had been short-noticed reserved by Xemnas for a student. Meaning anyone who was not supposed to be there, shouldn't.

Roxas was there (I ignored the sign, as most people were wont to do). I stayed in the shadow of the doorway, just watching him.

It was…astounding. I mean if you just walked in you would have seen him simply climbing the rock wall…without a rope. But if you watched for a sec…I had a feeling something else was going to happen.

And man, did it. He did a freakin flip off the top, grabbing the climbing rope that was about five feet away. Normally when someone was on the wall, the rope was pulled up out of the way. He grabbed the rope, letting his hand slide down it. When he was about half way down, he did another jump, landing soundlessly on the ground.

I clapped slowly.

He jumped again…if a little less gracefully. And landed on his ass. Oops…wait…did I actually…surprise Roxas? Wow…normally it's the other way around.

Roxas has a much faster recovery rate. He was on his feet and striding towards me in less than two seconds.

"How did you do that?" yes I was still a little dumbfounded.

"I…I took jujutsu. I reached the level of kaiden…or the thing above black belt I guess, before I moved here." Well then. That would explain it.

"Xemnas has given the entire class the rest of class to work on the talent competition." He nodded.

"I know. But there's not much we can do is there?" He had a point there.

"Why didn't you come to class?" Yes random. I like random.

"I didn't need to and I don't know…the room just felt…odd. I asked Xemnas if I could leave the class and use the gym, he said yes, so I didn't need to show up."

"Okay back to the project he dumped on us, did you finish the song?" he nodded slowly.

"It's not one of my best but it should work. It was a bit hard to add a part for a sitar, but I think I managed it."

"Great. I'll tell the guys at lunch. We can practice this afternoon at Zex's house." He nodded.

Something must have been passed between us because a few minutes later I was sitting on the floor against the wall and Roxas was once again climbing the rock wall without a rope.

"Yo Roxas? I'll be right back." I don't know why I told him but it seemed rude to just walk away. Okay…that's new…I've never cared if I seemed rude to someone…except Zexion, but there are reasons for that.

He didn't say anything but I know he heard me.

_Five minutes later…_

Why are the bathrooms so close to the band rooms? I've never understood that. I mentally shrugged. Not my problem.

I walked into the gym, to stop short right in front of the door.

Neither of the two males noticed.

Why hello there Riku…

The sliverette looked…pissed not to put too fine a point on it. That and he also had Roxas pinned to the wall by the throat.

Oh shit. What to do?! I probably could have hit Riku upside the head, and had every intention of doing so, but…Roxas' eyes stopped me.

His eyes showed no fear. At least, it didn't look like fear. His eyes (I don't know if this is possible but if it is, he pulled it off with flying colors) looked even colder than they have been. They were bordering on dead. Not the Riku noticed of course.

What happened next was way too fast for me to catch it all, but I could see a bit. Like Roxas taking Riku down by wrapping his ankle around behind the taller boy's. Riku went down like a rock, but Roxas grabbed his arm before he landed, twisting him around so he landed on his stomach.

Roxas knelt beside the stunned Riku's side and pressed his hand on his neck. I heard Riku…squeak. Riku freakin squeaked.

Roxas bent down even further and seemed to say something into Riku's ear. Then he got up calmly and left the still floored Riku (and a very stunned me).

I walked slowly over to Riku, who was slowly getting up, rubbing his neck.

"What the hell just happened?" Normally, Riku would have snubbed me and most likely made some comment about gays (wasn't he one too?!). But I guess taking on a scary Roxas will tend to loosen the tongue.

"He's…I don't know what he is. I wasn't gonna do more than scare him…for embarrassing Sora…"

"What exactly did he tell you?" Riku looked at me for a second, still rubbing his neck.

"He just said 'why do that for a friend?'." Now it was my turn to stare.

Riku regained himself after that, stalking out, seemingly more pissed than when he had come in.

The bell rang right after Riku walked out. The noise seemed to fade as I too walked out, heading for Chem. Not fade like it was ending fade, but fade like it was disappearing. Too much was on my mind.

Which was probably why I walked into the door…

* * *

Disclaimer: you all know i own nothing so why i have to keep saying it is beyond me...

A/N: you all probably hate me for the beginning right now and i would understand you perfectly, but i just had to write that. I had to have a contrast to the ending of the last chapter. At least it was short right? Please don't kill me...anyways...thanks to those who reviewed! You guys give me courage day in and day out! So, please review! I'm running short on courage and high on fear right now, for both my stories! I need all the help i can get! Even if your telling me how much you hate me right now, just tell me somethin! Thanx!


	6. RoxasxKairi? God No

A/N: Ello! Thank you for staying with me after that horrible last chapter. It broke my heart to write the beginning of it, but it felt right in the story. And i needed to try and explain just a little bit of Roxy's past. So anyway, thank you to those who stuck with me and didn't try to throw sharp object s into the vicinity of my head! On with the story!

* * *

_Axel's POV_

"…ello? Axel? Earth to pyro!" I snapped to attention as Demyx's voice filtered through my head.

"What?" I had met with Demyx and Larxene right after chem., and was currently walking with them towards the lunchroom.

"What's with you? You've been zoning out this entire time, we're almost there." I had actually been zoning out since the beginning of math when Roxas never showed up.

"I'll tell you later alright?" Demyx pouted, but nodded as we entered the hectic and noisy lunchroom.

Zexion was already there. He waved to us from the back table my group normally claimed. And…so was Roxas. Not at our table of course. He was three tables down again, surrounded by empty tables and an even larger hailstorm than before.

We sat down, perfectly aware that the area around us had grown quieter ever since the little blonde had arrived.

"So, we practicing tonight? Roxas has the song done,"

"Really? That was fast…"

"Yes Dem. Now as I was saying, Roxas has the song done, and he agreed to practicing this afternoon at Zexy's house." I loved calling him that. It was the only time the silent boy showed any real emotion (except for rare moments, and when he was with Demyx).

"I told you pyro, not to call me Zexy." I smiled innocently…not that he bought it for a second.

"So what's the snowman's house like?" Wow. Larxene showing interest in the guy who snubbed her? Impressive…

I looked over to Roxas, making sure he wasn't listening. Not like I really had to worry. He wasn't there. That made things a lot easier…

Now…do I tell them? I'm not supposed to know…I probably shouldn't tell them. Not like they wouldn't keep it a secret, it's just that it felt…wrong. Just wrong.

"Well, he has three dogs, one being half my weight if not more." Demyx squealed.

"What kinds?" I knew Demyx would ask that. He always did when dogs were brought up.

"Uh…the puppies are Rottweilers, and the big one…what did he called it…an Akita I think." Demyx squealed even louder. Again I felt a fleeting sympathy for Zexion… but then remembered that he subjected himself to this willingly, and the feeling disappeared.

"Other than that, I basically stayed in the living room. He does have a freakin huge TV though." Time for a change of subject.

"So Larxene? How was your mom's trip anyway?" She smiled.

She loved to talk about her mom's travels. Her mom was a photographer, one of the most sought after in the world. You would think that a kid of such a person would be depressed at never having her only parent home (her dad died when she was a baby), but Larxene only had pride for her mom. It was very interesting.

"Great. Except that the shoot she was supposed to do never happened. She still got paid though." Demyx jumped in.

"What was the shoot supposed to be?"

"She was supposed to photograph Shukketsu Hatsu. I had even asked her to get their autographs for us. But the day she got there, everything just went topsy-turvy." Hm…

"How so?" She thought for a second before pulling out a magazine. It was surprisingly in English.

"How'd you get one in English?" I grabbed it from her, Demyx and Zexion leaning in towards me to see as well.

"My mom knew someone who wrote a few articles in there. But look at the cover." I read it out loud since I was kinda blocking Demyx's view.

"'Roxas Ukahara, second son of the prestigious owner of Ukahara Enterprises is missing'" Under that was another thing.

"Also missing, the lead singer for Shukketsu Hatsu." I turned to the page it indicated. Zexion gave up trying to look over my shoulder, as did Zexion. They could read it when I was done.

It covered Ukahara's disapearence first. Basically it said that his father and his brother, a Cloud Ukahara, hadn't seen him for a week and a half, around the same time that Hikage's disapearence had been noticed. The rest was blabber about a bunch of crud that I completely ignored.

I gave the magazine to a waiting Demyx.

"They look a lot alike don't they?"

"Who?" Zexion sighed. Yes I'm stupid in his eyes but that doesn't stop him from hoping that maybe once in a while I could keep up with him. Hasn't happened yet.

"Ukahara and Tetsu." I took a closer look over Demyx's shoulder. The picture of Ukahara had been taken off a security camera, him yet again flipping it or someone else off. But it was still pretty clear. They did look quiet a bit alike. And they're name was the same…dammit! It's making my brain hurt again!

"And Tetsu moved here recently didn't he? Where did he say he was from?"

"He said Seoul, but I know he was going to say something else. But still, can you really imagine Roxas, or as Larxene so affectionately calls him, the snowman, being that stuck up Ukahara?" I didn't have to explain that I had already read about Ukahara. They just knew. I don't know how, and if I thought too hard on it, I start getting creeped out so I normally steered away from that train of thought…

And, thank whatever higher being there was, a distraction came through the lunchroom doors. Not that those crying girls thought the same.

There were two of them. Kairi and Namine…ugh…and Kairi was balling her eyes out.

"Roxas is a goddamned jerk!" That was Kairi, the one with the lungs. They both walked over to Sora and Riku, who kinda just stared at them for a few seconds before jumping up to help. That's when I also noticed Kairi holding her cheek, like you would do after…someone...slapped you…What the hell happened?!

"Larxene…?" She nodded and walked over there. For some reason, Larxene was accepted by the girls of Sora's little group. They talked to her almost as freely as they did to Riku and Sora themselves. It was a tad bit creepy.

She stayed over there for a few minutes before walking back.

"Well, as far as I can tell, Kairi asked Roxas out, Roxas stared at her, and then asked her 'why would you want me anyway?'. Kairi called him cute and brave and some other crap. Roxas went…freakin nuclear. I think that's how she described it. I'm going to guess that means he was pissed. He mad a move to slap her. According to Kairi he did slap her, but according to Namine he stopped just short of her face, and then ran down the hall. I think I'm going to trust Namine's word since she wasn't the one crying her lungs out."

Well then…what do you say to that? Apparently I wasn't the only one who thought so because our table, and a few surrounding ones that had heard it, were dead silent. And it got even quieter as the story got spread around the room.

That's when the intercom crackled to life. "Would Roxas Tetsu please come to the office. Now." Oh. Not good. The only way to get to the office was through the lunchroom.

Roxas walked in, cold as ever. But there was something…different. He seemed drained…I guess that's the best way to put it. Almost like he did this morning, except a bit tidier.

He ignored the stares, disgusted or otherwise. Only four people actually stared at him with disgust. One guess who…The rest just stared out of curiosity, awe, or even jealousy.

Who was this kid? It was a silent question. That's when I realized that everyone must know of what happened in the gym, more or less anyway. Probably just enough to know that one of the biggest jerks in the school had been beaten. And now that same kid had 'declined' one of the 'hottest' girls in the school (not my feelings, but most of the guys at our school are straight and practically drool over Kairi and Namine).

The intercom came on again.

"Would Kairi Shima also come to the office." Kairi stopped crying at least. She was practically as dead as Roxas as she followed him to the office.

I turned back to the still silent group.

"You guys haven't heard what happened between him and Riku have you?"

"I didn't hear much of anything except that Riku had finally been beaten. I didn't know it was Roxas who had done it…" Demyx and Zexion nodded agreement. I filled them in, leaving a stunned Larxene, a relatively happy Demyx (with him, there is never a reason for his happiness) and an as usual emotionless Zexion.

"Just please don't bring it up later. I get the feeling Roxas will probably walk out on us if we ask." They all nodded. Good.

Kairi and Roxas came out a minute later. Roxas left, and a now silent Kairi went back to her own table.

That's when I realized that I didn't know what Roxas did after lunch. I did know that he didn't have history, none of us did (only kids who failed it had to take it again their senior year), but his chem. class was the same time as mine, just a different teacher. That left a huge chunk of time between lunch and the end of the day.

There were a ton of miscellaneous classes the school offered, but many were meant only for freshmen and sophomores. Basically, only the performing, literary, and industrial arts were open to juniors and seniors, as well as a few random ones thrown in.

I had art with Demyx in a double period, meaning I had it after lunch till the bell rang. We hadn't gone to that class yet since one, yesterday, school was canceled, and two, on Monday and Tuesday, seniors were given the choice of going to afternoon classes or just hanging around the school grounds. Today was the first day we had no choice but to go.

And speak of the devil, the bell rang to get our asses moving to class.

* * *

Ms. Kotta. Two words. Scary. As. Hell. Three words…okay I'm really bad at that, but again, you get the point.

You wouldn't think she was until she opened her mouth or turned on her internal 'teacher mode'. Before that, she looked like an eccentric, but kind artist, with a side swept ponytail and a paint splattered jean and shirt outfit.

That was before she said…

"Get your asses in your chairs. This isn't the damn lunchroom." Needless to say we found the suggestion quite appealing…

"I'm Ms. Kotta. I'm not gonna bother with introductions of the class, because like it or not, I will call you whatever I feel like. If it happens to be your name, fine, if it's not, deal with it. You will only have one project per semester. At the end of each semester we have an exhibition to raise money for the school. In short, do whatever the hell you like but make sure it's done a week before the semester is over." She turned around, seeming to stare into her office at the back of the classroom.

"Roxas? Could you unlock the supply room for me?" Well…I now knew where Roxas w…Wow. That is basically all I can say.

Roxas had walked out. And I had to do the equivalent of a double take to actually recognize him.

He had changed his shirt in favor of a white paint splattered tank top. His face and hands were covered in clay dust and charcoal. His hair was also coated in a very thin layer of dust. And it was beyond messed up. He dusted his hair out with his hands, drawing attention to two bandages wrapped around his writs.

That's when the memories of his scars popped back in my head. Before I had left so rapidly, I had thought I had seen…something…oh what the hell…I had thought I had seen cuts on his wrists. I wasn't able to make sure though.

He didn't exactly smile but that's also when I noticed how he stood. He was…relaxed. Roxas was actually relaxed. It was amazing the affect it had on him. Gone were the hard lines in his face, gone was the scowl. He looked like any normal kid…with muscles you don't want to mess with.

The tank he had on was tight enough to just barely show his abs…damn. That is all I will say. And the rest of his arms were exposed. Now it was kind of easy to see how he took down Riku…and climbed that rock wall…and did that flip…

"Sure Ms. Kotta." She tossed him a set of keys, which he caught without a thought. He unlocked the door in the back and then took a seat in the group of desks that were vacant (there were only twenty or so people in the class, and there were over thirty desks). And get this. He actually reclined. He was fully relaxed. Never thought I'd live to see that…

"Well? What are you lazy asses waiting for? Get started." Amazing what a few words can do to a class. Everyone was up, trying to figure out what they wanted to do, except myself, and another girl who's name I didn't know.

We were the smart ones. I had a notebook I kept with me at all times. It had random notes, thoughts, drawings. Basically, anything that was on my mind was represented someway in that book.

I saw Roxas out of the corner of my eye (he was kinda hard to miss) talking with the other teacher from hell (Xemnas being the first).

Said teacher was also practically glowing as he told her something that no one else could hear.

I could hear her reply though. She. Is. Loud.

"There's an extra room right across the hall, and lucky for you I do have one. Left over from the mural project they did last year. Take however much you need. Here, I'll have someone help you get the supplies over there." I expected Roxas to give his usual answer of 'no thank you' but instead, he just nodded.

Ms. Kotta scanned the room. I think I unconsciously ducked lower in my seat, trying to hide from her hard as steel green eyes.

"Yo Porcupine! Get over here!" Porcupine? Come on! Why the hell does my name have to be porcupine?! Then again…I get the feeling she was being nice…

"Yes?" I acted like I didn't hear the last half of their apparently 'secret' conversation.

"Help Roxas get some supplies to the room across the hall. Come on, I'll show you boys where the canvas is. I imagine that will be the hardest to get." Canvas? Okay, I was interested.

* * *

We finally got it into the room and situated on the wall. And I do mean finally. The thing was huge. It was taller than me (me being 6'1") by about five inches and twice as wide. What was he planning on doing with the thing?

"I'm sure you would like to get started on your own project Axel, but thanks for the help." And I take it that was him basically telling me to shoo. The paints and a huge set of colored charcoal pencils littered the floor around him as he stared at the blank canvas.

I left quietly, cursing my luck for getting first dumped with that stupid talent competition and now the end of semester exhibition.

I shrugged it off, telling myself that it could be worse…couldn't think of how, but I stubbornly held onto the thought.

I went back into the room and sat next to Demyx who was busy sketching something that looked like a stylized music note. Cool.

Now what to do for mine? I don't draw often, but when I do, normally I don't know what I'm doing till I stop.

I set the pencil to the paper, and thought for a second before the pencil started to move. My thoughts moved onto more interesting topics. Like Roxas.

What had made him so relaxed? Why were his arms bandaged? What was he planning to do? I had many more questions, but I didn't have any answers. And I really wanted to slam my head repeatedly into something hard. It's not like I could talk about any of this with the blonde. It was just too confusing.

And as I'm sure I've told you, confusion is a big, fat, no in my book.

* * *

Disclaimer: Me. Own. Nothing. There ya happy Square Enix?! But just you wait!

A/N: Hello people! I'm sorry if this chap sucs, but i've had a lot on my mind, such as another story. But i don't want to start that one till i get a bit farther into this one, but it is damn hard to resist the urge to write. But anyway, thanx to all the people who reviewed! And i'm sorry FireEyes, but you will have to wait a few more chapters before i reveal what song Roxas wrote. I want it to be a surprise! So anyway, please review! It might get my attention fully back to this story! I don't care if youre just writing to say how much you don't like my story, but please write something! Thanx!


	7. Door to the Soul

A/N: Hiya people! Okay so i've been having major writers block, so this chapter is really short, but thank you to those who reviewd on my last one! You guys make me happy through the day!

* * *

_Axel's POV_

The bell was about to ring, Ms. Kotta made that very clear.

Anyway, I didn't bother looking at what I had drawn. Partially because I hadn't really drawn anything (unless you counted the fifteen crumpled pieces of paper by my feet). Every time I had started something, it hadn't felt right, and so going against my tree hugger instincts, I had torn it out and crumpled it up. The bell had rang right after the last one had joined it's brethren on the floor.

That's when Roxas came in. I felt my hand flutter again as it caught wind of another thought from my subconscious brain (how did I know it came from there? Because I honestly had no idea what I was doing…)

Roxas was…put simply? A mess. But instead of being covered in dust this time, he was covered in paint. His hair, his face, his clothes (except his jeans actually…) were just covered. Only in red, and other dark colors. Yet it still gave him a slightly crazed look since there were slight dashes of much brighter yellows, greens, and blues.

And he…glowed. Just like the time Taiyou had licked his nose. No smile, but…the possibility was still there.

Ms. Kotta…laughed. She actually laughed as she looked at Roxas.

"My dear! You looked like you had fun," Roxas? Have fun? Can't picture it… "How much did you get done?"

He looked at her for a few seconds.

"Actually most of this is from mixing colors to see which would best fit. Not much actually made it onto canvas. Actually," He shrugged as sheepishly he could without smiling, "Very little charcoal got on either. Only a bit of the top corner." Ms. Kotta simply smiled and nodded.

"Well dear, since it's almost time to go anyway, why don't you just wash up at home? I'm sure it will be much easier there, unless you really want to." Roxas nodded as she handed him what I took to be his shirt.

…and then the bell rang. I really wish I did have a hammer…but then again…we wouldn't know it was the end of the day now would we? Hm… decisions, decisions…

I caught Roxas before he left.

"So, you gonna meet us over there?" He looked down at himself and then gave me that same cold look. I'm gonna choose to take that as a yes…

I wrote Zexion's address on a slip of paper I tore from my notebook and gave it to him.

And we're back to being tense…He took it and walked out, perfectly fine with ignoring me…

* * *

"So where's the little dude?" Demyx. Let me get out of the building please before you start asking me questions…

I was about to answer before a rather loud motorcycle rumble cut me off. And there goes Roxas.

"I gave him Zexion's address. You saw him after class Dem. He'll meet us there." Demy was…pouting…sometimes I really wonder how old he is…

* * *

We were all basically trying to become one with the furniture when the doorbell rang. Zexion got up, the only one who made a movement besides moving of the head.

"Come on guys. It's probably Roxas." And in deed it was, in his usual black turtleneck and jeans.

"So, you got the song Roxy?" At least I wasn't the only one who called him that…but I did feel a moments fear for Demyx's safety.

"Yeah, but it's still sketchy. I need to hear each of you play to see if I need to change anything. That's not a problem is it?" And we're back to "little perfect" Roxas. The one he pulled on Reno and Luxord…And you know what? Demyx and Larxene both bought it. Even after seeing him at school…these are my best friends people…any sign I need help?

"That's not a problem at all. Come on, we can practice in the garage. Did you bring your guitar?" Uh…Larxene? What happened to the snowman?

"I left it by the door, go get set up, and I'll be there in a second." Demyx nodded and practically dragged the rest of us to said room.

Roxas was back in less than a minute actually. How he found the garage without help is beyond me. When I first came here, it took me three days to remember where the bathroom was.

He also had a folder and paper. Must be his song.

"Can we see it?" Calm down Demy…yes he was jumping up and down. Roxas…flinched? Before handing it over to Dem. Needless to say, we all crowded around him.

"Roxas…this is…" Larxene? At a loss for words?

"This is heartbreaking!" And of course, Demyx never is. "I like it!" The song wasn't exactly heartbreaking, but you could practically see the emotion off of it…Which of course was mirrored perfectly in it's writer…(that was something known as sarcasm people)

"I need to hear your part first Demyx. I'm not exactly sure I got yours right." Demyx practically flew over to his sitar in the corner.

"What do you want me to play?"

"Anything will work. Your choice."

* * *

It actually only took about twenty or so minutes for Roxas to hear us all and make his changes. We would have started practicing (and by that I mean probably go raid the kitchen and then start practicing), had Larxene not said, "You've heard us play Roxas. Why don't you play something for us?"

I had already heard him play. I hadn't really expected to hear it solo again anytime soon. Zexion, yes the shadow spoke, agreed with Larxene (Demyx was somewhere cradling his sitar).

"Alright. I'm not that good, but…" I resisted the urge to snort. He brought his guitar out and sat down, completely tuning us out. And hey guess what? Even Demyx was quiet for once.

He started out slow, calm. Now that I think back, it was like that for the entire two minutes he played, but while you were listening, you get the feeling that there are waves of emotion right beneath the surface.

When he finished, Zexion, yes Zexion, was the first to speak.

"Amazing. Simply amazing. Not even Xemnas will be able to find fault with that." I stared at him, as did Larxene. Zexion spoke more than one, heck two, words. He had actually said a sentence. Wow…yes I'm just giving him a hard time, but you know what? It's fun.

Roxas shrugged and made a move to get up. That's when Demyx tackled him. It was a simple glomp. But he had taken Roxas from behind.

Roxas went rigid for a second before…fainting. Roxas actually fainted in Demyx's arms. Said moron let go of him the minute Roxas' body went slack, only to catch him again before his head hit the floor.

"What'd I do?!" I lightly slapped Demyx, who looked about to faint himself…from lack of breath.

"It's just from shock Dem. I've told you not to sneak up behind people." Demyx looked like a little kid who had just gotten caught stealing candy.

"Demyx? Could you maybe let me up?" Demyx yelped, releasing Roxas again. This time he did land on the floor.

"Thank you." He held up a hand to Demyx, who was just about to start spill apologies all over him. "It was nothing you did Dem. You just surprised me a bit. Could you help me up?" Demyx nodded practically pulled Roxas up _off_ his feet before setting him _on_ them.

"Can we practice please? I gotta get home to feed my dogs." Him and dogs…

"It should only take thirty minutes. The music you wrote is pretty simple, a few practices and we could be set." Roxas…smirked? Oh my god he did. And it didn't leave his face after two seconds. It stayed there.

"It looks simple but sounds complicated." And with that, he picked up his guitar again, and waited for us to get our instruments as well.

* * *

He was right. The music, while simple to play, sounded complicated beyond belief. Another interesting thing? The music was fast, the words were slow. It created a very interesting contrast. And it sounded awesome!

There is now way in hell Xemnas could mess this one up.

* * *

Disclaimer: Yeah yeah, run it in Square Enix. I own nothing...

A/N: Please don't kill me! I know its short...like uberly short, but i was having major writers block, and this was what i got. I swear the next chapter will be much longer okay? Deal? Please don't kill me! And please review, if only to tell me that my story sucs, just tell me something or another! Thanx!-


	8. Tears in the Paint

A/N: Hiya people, thank you for your lovely reviews. They really lifted my spirits! And heaven knows i needed that...anyway, enough of my self pity! So this one is still kinda short, but it is longer than the last one, so i hope you like this chapter!

* * *

_Axel's POV_

_Next Monday…_

Xemnas. Needs. To. Fucking. Die!

He changed the due date from next Friday to this Friday. The only good thing that happened today was that all classes were canceled except for first period. For the rest of the week (something about a teacher's meeting in another state, no subs agreeing to come, and about fifteen teachers out sick)

And Xemnas seemed pretty content to let us do whatever we wanted within the limits of the law.

Me, Demyx, Larxene, and Zexion were all sitting on the bleachers, talking about anything and everything that came to mind. I loved these moments. The world just seemed…relaxed. No teacher was breathing down our necks, no parents were yelling at us for some reason or another. It was just an awesome feeling.

"Is that Roxas over there?" Demyx was squinting out over the football field.

"Where?" Larxene bent down to Demyx's eye level, trying to see what he was seeing.

I couldn't see if it was Roxas, but there was someone walking in our relative direction.

"Looks like him. I figured he'd be in the art room though." Demyx was gone in a second.

He was also back in a second, dragging poor Roxy…Roxas (goddamit! I mentally slapped myself) behind him.

"Demyx? Why are you dragging that poor kid behind you?" Thank you Larxene. I swear she steals the words from my mouth before I even know I'm gonna say them.

"I need his help. Come on Roxy!" And with that he dragged him farther down the bleachers, away from us, depositing him on one.

They were out of earshot. Damn…

Zexion and Larxene went back to talking (Larxene doing the talking). I would add my input at times, but I was too interested in staring at Roxas and Demyx.

Roxas had been overly tense when Demyx had first dragged him over there but after five minutes, he was relaxed. His mouth was even relaxed, with the possibility of the smile hanging in the air again.

Something hit me in the side. Mentally not physically. It was gone before I could figure out what it was though.

I watched the two, studying Roxas really.

I hadn't noticed really how small the kid was until now. I expected him to be skinny with his height and all, but this was…just wrong. His clothes were _big _on him.

I also noticed his eyes. I hadn't truly noticed how bright and at the same time how dull they were. The possibility of them being able to blind anyone who looked at them was there.

He smiled. It was small, just like the first one I had seen, but…it was beautiful. I don't care anymore. Roxas was beautiful, or had been at one point. Every time he relaxed or smiled that beauty was there.

That thing in my side was back. I knew what it was now.

Jealousy.

I was jealous of Demyx. Because he had been able to make Roxas smile. I don't know why the thought was there. It's not like I liked the kid. Sure he interested me. But I didn't like him…at least…I don't think so…

* * *

_Fifteen minutes later_

Demyx came back over with Roxas who, once again, had that cold neutral look on his face.

"Hey guys! Me and Roxas are gonna go to the art room, wanna come?" Zexion nodded, as did Larxene. I shrugged and followed.

Apparently Demyx had asked Roxas to help him with his project. The stylized music note I believe it was.

Eh I was here, why not work on mine?

I flipped open my notebook and looked at what I had drawn.

Oh. Wow.

This is what happens when I don't look at what I drew for several days.

I had drawn Roxas. I had drawn him the way I had seen him on Thursday. Messy and completely…natural.

For some reason, my talent in drawing lies with drawing people. If I see the person a few times, or even if I just make them up in my head, I can draw them pretty well.

I knew I couldn't draw Roxas for my project though. Want reasons? Alright. One, I don't think he'd appreciate it. And two? I don't like rumors and this would definitely cause rumors.

But that didn't mean I couldn't keep the sketch, and turn in something else.

I tried a few more things, before finally coming up with a thought.

I didn't bother sketching it. Instead I raided the closet for the canvas' Ms. Kotta kept in the closet and the paints there too. (She had left a note on her door saying any student wanting to work on their projects was free to do so as long as no mess remained)

* * *

"..xel? Axel?! YO PYRO!!" My brush nearly smeared right across the canvas. Thank the lord my reflexes are good…

"What Larx?" I glared at her for a moment before turning back to the painting. I had only painted in the streetlamp, the sky, and a bit of the street.

"It's five minutes before the bell rings moron."

"I missed lunch?" She stared at me weird for a second.

"You wouldn't respond when we told you we were heading out to lunch. When we came back you were still here painting." Oh…oops.

"So you coming or what?" I looked at my painting again.

"We practicing again today?"

"No. We talked it over with Roxas. But we are practicing tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday."

"I'm gonna stay here for a bit okay?"

"All right. Just don't die alright? And call your brother so he doesn't have a heart attack." I nodded and gave her and Dem (Zexion was already outside) a salute-wave, which they returned before they disappeared. Just as the bell rang.

I only planned to stay a few more minutes. I didn't want to finish my painting too soon. I mean I didn't expect to finish it soon anyway, but if I got too far ahead, it would be harder to make changes if I needed to.

"You're a good artist." I once again had to save my painting from disaster by moving my brush away from it.

"Do you,"

"Do I always have to do that?" I stared at him. Did I miss something?

He wasn't as much of a mess, as in no paint was splattered on his clothes, but his hair was mussed up and…there was a smudge of red paint on his cheek.

"I don't know. Guess I'm just quiet. It's not something I can control." That's when I noticed how he was standing. He was actually leaning against the cabinet behind me. I hadn't seen him recline ever. His arms were also crossed. He looked…normal.

"What do you plan to put in the middle?" It took my slow brain a moment to figure out what he was talking about.

"Oh. I have an idea, but I don't really know yet. Guess I'll figure it out when I get there." His lips twitched. What was that?

"How'd you help Demyx? I never really got the whole story of that." His lips twitched again (why the hell was I noticing this?!)

"Demyx just needed help making a part look right. I showed him an example of maybe what he was looking for and helped him draw it in his own style." Ah. Well at least he hadn't just done it for him.

"I was wondering if…" He looked uncomfortable. Not like tense uncomfortable, but like…hm…just fidgety uncomfortable, if that makes any sense.

"If? Come on Roxas, it's not like I'm gonna say no and laugh at you right?" He looked at me with surprise. It was one of the first real emotions I had seen from him.

"I was just wondering if…you could help me clean up the mess I made in the other room." He head had ducked down as he said that. Like asking for help was embarrassing or…something else. I also saw him flinch when I started to speak.

"Sure. I was about to put mine away. So how about you help me then I'll help you." His head snapped up. Sheesh. You would think no one had ever said yes to him…before…

Axel you are one stupid guy.

* * *

His painting was just starting to get some color up in the corner. But the rest was light colored lines that didn't look to have any rhyme or reason to them.

He caught me staring.

"I know it's bad, but you don't need to gawk."

"Roxas? I never said it was bad." He shrugged. "But what is it?" He looked at it.

"I honestly don't know. I guess I'll know when I'm done." Hm. Sound familiar?

I tried another tactic. I think it's time Roxas started talking.

"How long have you been into art anyway?" He looked at me, then turned away. Fast. Going back to cleaning. I thought he wasn't going to answer.

"I don't know when I started really. I can't remember not drawing or not writing. I guess it's just become a part of me." Hm. Interesting.

"What about you?" Is that a personal question I hear?

"Mine sadly hasn't been that long. I started right after my parents died. It just became a way to express things you know? It worked a hell of lot better than yelling at my brother." He looked at me again.

"How did your parents die? If you don't mind me asking…" That entire statement was almost a whisper I had to strain to hear.

"You don't need to be scared about asking me questions Roxas. I'll answer them or I won't. But I won't be mad at you for asking. Everyone has a right to be curious. As for my parents? They died in a car crash when I was eight. I miss them but…you know? It doesn't hurt to talk about them any more." He refused to look at me. At least that's the way I read his stance. And I'm pretty good at reading body language.

"What ab…" I stopped. Let's not go too far there Axel. It didn't seem like he had heard me anyway.

Actually he had started shaking. It wasn't overly visible, but again, I'm good at reading body language. I heard near silent sniffling. He was…crying. Oh shit! What'd I do?!

I resisted the urge to go to him and try to stop his tears. I got the feeling he didn't want me to know. I could respect that. He didn't know me, he could hardly be expected to open up to me yet.

I made the decision then and there.

No matter what, I would get Roxas to open up. I would find out what had made him so…broken was the best word I could use to describe it.

* * *

Disclaimer: Yeah yeah yeah, me own nothing. I wish i did. Then i really could make Axel a smart ass in the game, but sadly i must deal with imagining his attitude (as wellas Roxy's, Demy's, Zexion's...)

A/N: I'm so sorry this is so short people! My writes block is still here but its going away little by little which is why this one was a little bit longer. Give me few more days and i'm sure it will be gone, hopefully for good! Anyway, please review! Reviews are great cures for writers block, and i just like to read them!


	9. Sparks Will Fly

A/N: Hiya! Thanx for your lovely reviews people! They helped cure my writer's block! And for that, you now get to hear Roxy's song! Hope you like it!

* * *

_Axel's POV_

The next two days passed rather smoothly actually, all of us hanging out in the art room. Roxas was becoming more relaxed by the hour around us. He never went to the level I had seen him at when we were talking about my painting, but he was getting there.

Even our practices went great. We were ready, the practice this afternoon nothing more than a touch up really.

The sparks didn't start to fly until today. Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Namine found us.

Or found Roxas I should say. We (if you don't know what I mean by 'we' by now you are one slow person) walked in on them actually.

Roxas was there, just glaring at them, showing no real interest. Sora was shouting at him. Or, he had been.

"Sora, Riku." I try to be polite when I can. No one likes an argument they can avoid, and believe it or not I don't like to fight with these guys. They like to fight with us. Which is part of the reason I didn't acknowledge Kairi or Namine. Larxene did, but she didn't acknowledge Riku or Sora. Demyx and Zexion just nodded to all four. Me and Larxene are the ones who actually have preferences in that group.

We'll just say Sora and Riku can't spread the type of rumors the sisters can.

Sora didn't even realize we were here, but Riku did return our nod.

When I said earlier that I hated Sora's friends? Yeah, I do, but Riku I will talk to if I have to.

"What's going on?" And believe it or not, Riku sometimes answers me (minus an insult).

"Kairi." One word said it all. Sora is slightly overprotective of his friends (just like how Riku is overprotective of Sora). Why this didn't happen earlier is beyond me…

I turned back to watch the discussion.

"I told you, I didn't touch her." It was really creepy how bored Roxas was with this. Then again…Sora isn't very intimidating. They were of a height, but Roxas had muscle and Sora didn't.

"You fucking liar!" Hm…Sora rarely curses, something about him thinking it's beneath him or something.

"Look Sora, Kairi is a nice girl I'm sure," Yeah right… "She just surprised me. I made a move to slap her,_ that_ I will admit to, but I never laid a finger on her." Nice. Score one for Roxas.

"Now please leave. I need to work." Sora looked over at me.

"What since your boyfriend's here, you're just gonna run?" Hey now. No need to bring me in…

Sora was off the ground, Roxas' hand on his collar.

"I don't have a fucking boyfriend." His head had been lowered, shadowing his eyes. His voice was full with anger. It was damn scary man. So scary in fact, no one reacted. Not even when he dropped Sora, and left the room to go across the hall. It was quiet enough in the room that the soft click of the other room being closed could be heard.

Sora and Riku were out of there in a second, followed closely by Kairi and Namine.

Demyx, Larxene and Zexion were quietly going about their business (Larxene and Zexion were working on random little projects to help pass the day faster). I went across the hall.

"Roxas?" I pushed the door open. He was sitting on the ground in front of his canvas. His head was bowed and his knees were pulled up to his chest.

I shut the door behind me. No need for anyone else to see this. I barely felt right walking in on him. But…I would have felt worse if I had just left him there.

I didn't plan on talking to him, touching him. Nothing like that. But I've found that when you're hurt, someone just being there is one of the best things for you. I should know. Reno did it often enough for me after Mom and Dad died.

I sat beside him, facing him. He didn't notice I was there. At least, he gave no sign that he did.

He wasn't shaking this time, but he was crying.

That's when he latched on to me. One second we're apart, the next, he's crying into my chest.

I sat there like an idiot for a second, before I loosely wrapped my arms around him.

I could feel the fabric of my shirt getting soaked but I didn't care. What Roxas needed was someone who would hold him, not someone who gets all pissy because they're shirt's gonna have a huge wet spot on it.

* * *

We sat there for about half an hour before Roxas finally started to calm down. He didn't move away, but his crying turned into sobs, which finally died down to slightly erratic breathing.

When even that went back to normal, we still stayed there.

"Rox? You gonna be okay?" I kept my voice quiet. No need to make the headache that was likely blooming in his head any worse.

He nodded but didn't move.

"Hey Roxas? This is gonna sound weird, but I was wondering if maybe you wouldn't mind being called my friend? Demyx, Larxene, and Zexion come with that too, but…" I left it hanging, knowing perfectly well how stupid I sounded.

He didn't move for a second. Probably debating whether or not to hit me over the head for my stupidity…before I felt him nod.

"Well then. That's good, because Demyx would've done it anyway even without your permission." Yes I was trying to lighten the mood. I'm sorry but I will only stay in an emotionally dark room for so long.

He started shaking again. Very lightly. Even with me pressed so close, I could barely feel it.

"Roxas? Oh shit! What'd I do?!" He started shaking a little bit harder. Now I was really worried.

Wait…what was that sound?

I gently pulled Roxas' face away from my chest.

My heart melted. Right there. Roxas was laughing. He was laughing.

There's no more denying it. I was falling for him. And I was falling hard.

* * *

The bell rang, signaling lunch. Demyx had come in about five minutes ago asking us if we were coming.

I had told him no.

Roxas hadn't even heard him, but I was sure that's what he would've said as well.

I was watching him work. It was amazing how fluidly he moved from one section to the next, adding more lines here, furiously erasing others there. He didn't even start to paint until about ten minutes before the final bell rings.

I pointed this out and he (reluctantly) put down his brush.

"Come on Rox, don't be so mopey. You can start again tomorrow." He nodded.

Over the last hour and a half I had seen Roxas smile about five times. And each time, I felt my heart melt a little bit more.

We didn't really talk, him being too intent on his painting, and me too intent on watching him.

All in all. I'd say I had a good day.

* * *

_The next day (after a very…interesting…rehearsal of trying to decide what each person would wear)_

"I hope you're all ready for tonight. I know those who aren't participating are." Xemnas, being the evil man that he is, had polled, freakin polled, the students who weren't participating in talent competition over what they really wanted to see.

The "group music" section had gotten the most votes. Meaning he put that at the end of the list of who would be performing at what time, so people wouldn't just ditch after that section was done.

Not that the people knew that of course.

"You're required to be here at five, when it starts. I don't care if you're one of the last ones to perform, be here. An outdoor stage is being set up as we speak, so no going outside today. Now get out of here and let me have some peace." Fine by me!

One guess where we all ended up. (if you don't get his right I will mock you until you die)

We basically spent six hours (lunch included) doing…nothing. Roxas didn't even work on his project (gasp).

We sat around talking about nothing. It was just like Monday where we were all out on the bleachers.

A perfect moment. And guess what? Roxas even smiled at a couple comments Demyx made.

And that's when hell started.

* * *

I looked at the clock for the fourth time in the past fifteen minutes. It was still only 7:30. We had agreed to meet only once to make sure we were all here, and then to do our own thing until eight. It was something to stop us from thinking of ways to change something and then waste time trying to convince the others. Or something like that.

And the fact that Roxas and Larxene hadn't come dressed in what they wee supposed to.

I actually didn't know what Roxas was supposed to wear. I had left the room to get a drink when his was decided.

I looked down at my own outfit.

I don't know why it was such a big deal but Demyx had thrown a fit. Demyx fits are not fun. And that's why it was agreed that the main color would be black and one other color of you choice. The rest was basically "have fun".

I had really just thrown on my one and only pair of black skinny jeans. My shirt was black with green slash marks across the front. I don't even remember getting it…I had added a couple random bracelets and Demyx had forced me to wear that studded choker he had bought me for Christmas two years ago.

And while I was reliving my dressing, I accidentally bumped into someone…and promptly fell on my ass.

Said someone, was at the moment looking down at me, chuckling.

Déjà vu anyone? I had seen this guy before...

Blond hair, spiked. He was tall, maybe even an inch or two taller than me (it was kinda hard to tell since I was still on my ass)

His blue eyes were cold, and yet…they did have a spark to them. It was a weird combination that he pulled off rather well.

"Sorry about that. Here." He voice was deep, and heavy with an accent that even I could place. Japanese. I took the offered hand, allowing him to restore me to my original height. (He was actually only about half an inch taller than me)

"You go here right?" I nodded dumbly. I was still trying to take in his height…what? It's not often I find someone who's taller than me…

"Then maybe you could help me? I'm looking for a Roxas Tetsu. Do you know him? Everyone else I ask just looks at me weird." He turned away and scratched his head.

Should I lie? I mean, he would never know and Roxas probably wouldn't care…the thought that I'd seen this man before would not leave me alone!

"He's my friend." He'd probably find him sooner or later anyway…

The man looked surprised. You could see it in his eyes.

"…friend?" Then he smiled. "I'm Cloud. His brother." He offered me his hand again. I shook it.

"Axel." Then it hit me. The dark room in Roxas' apartment. The picture I had noticed before I walked out. The one of Roxas and Cloud apparently. He looked older but it was him.

"So do you know where he is?"

"Actually no. But I'm supposed to meet up with him at eight by the stage. Stupid talent competition…" I grumbled and he chuckled again.

"So what are you and him doing? For the show?"

"We're actually pairing with three of my other friends. Impromptu band." Cloud frowned slightly.

"Hm…well when you see him can you tell him to give me a call? I want to talk to him. I was just planning on seeing him and leaving, but now…I kinda want to see this." I nodded and he walked away.

Well that was interesting.

"PYRO!" I jumped. Larxene can yell man…

"We gotta go get ready idiot! It's eight!" Oh right. My talk with Cloud had taken a little bit. We actually didn't play until 8:30 but we had decided to get set up as best we could before then.

The band playing before us wasn't that bad, but I kind of tuned them out.

"Where's Roxas?" Demyx and Zexion were here, and Larxene obviously.

"Here. Sorry." I turned around.

Well. Hello.

Roxas was dressed in black, white, and hints of silver. Nothing fancy but…damn…He was wearing black skinny jeans with holes torn out in random places. There were also two chains attached at each hip (same way he was wearing them the first time I had ever seen him actually)

His shirt was a ripped white tank top that showed off a good expanse of stomach. Under the tank top he had a black fishnet shirt (are those technically shirts?). Again I say, damn….He was wearing a studded choker like me but I got the distinct impression he was pulling it off better.

He was also wearing eyeliner. Heavy eyeliner. And…whoa…Roxas' ears were pierced, two in each ear. He was wearing four small silver hoops. And his eyebrow was pierced too. A silver stud stood out on his pale skin.

I looked away as quickly as I could. No need making a problem…a problem that I wouldn't be able to fix for awhile. Best to avoid that all together. But it was hard man…ack! Wrong word, wrong word!

While I was mentally bitch-slapping myself, Roxas was busy being oblivious to my little war. As was everyone else. I guess that's a good thing.

"Come on. The curtains are lowering. We're up."

We congratulated the four guys who had just played and set up our own instruments.

Larxene and Zexion would be behind me and Demyx, with Roxas center.

I took a deep breath as the curtains started to rise.

Larxene started to lightly tap a beat on her drums before the curtain was halfway up.

Show time people.

* * *

_Normal POV_

The crowd fell silent as the beat started.

Light notes from a keyboard became intertwined with it, as did the deeper notes of a sitar a few seconds later.

Two guitars joined as the curtain finally stopped moving.

The entire stage was dark, the music haunting over the crowd.

That's when it started to pick up. A light came on under the drummer, the only girl. Lights came on one by one, each under on of the people on stage, until only the center was still dark.

His light came on; the music started getting harsher, faster.

Then…he started to sing.

His voice was deeper than anyone else his size.

It was beautiful. The crowd started cheering halfway through the first verse.

The crowd loved the way the words were slow, and how the music made their blood boil. It was perfect.

_-_

_I saw the world_

_Through your unending lies_

_The truth I never saw_

_You took my breath away (you took my breath away)_

_-_

_I gave my heart to you_

_I gave you my love_

_I gave you my trust_

_You stole all of me_

_-_

_You just had to break it_

_Break and keep on lying_

_You just had to kill_

_What was left of what I called my soul_

_-_

_How does it feel?_

_Knowing you've committed the murder_

_Of a worthless child_

_One who couldn't stand_

_Without your lying hand? (lying hand)_

_-_

_You've driven home_

_The point that I feared_

_The truth I finally see_

_You've shown me_

_The truth after all even with_

_All your scheming ways_

_-_

_I gave my heart to you_

_I gave you my love_

_I gave you my trust_

_You stole all of me_

_-_

_You'll never let me go (never let me go)_

_I saw that long ago_

_I fall willingly into your open arms_

_Until you steal my breath away (steal my breath away)_

_One final time_

_-_

_I gave my heart to you_

_I gave you all my love_

_I gave you the rest of my trust_

_You stole (stole)_

_All of me_

_You stole all of me_

_-_

The music started to fade, till only the drums could still be heard, repeating the beat that had started the song. Those stopped completely as the curtain fell.

The crowd…came to life, cheering, hollering.

It had been a long time since they had heard anything like that.

If only more of them had ever heard of Shukketsu Hatsu

* * *

Disclaimer: Yay i can claim something! That song? Yeah that's mine!! I wrote it! Mine mine! Okay i'm good now, but yes besides that song i own nothing as usual

A/N: Hola! This is my third longest chapter! And after my annoying bout with writers block...i kinda feel like jumping for joy! Thank you people for sticking with me through that tough time. I had fun writing this chapter! I hope you liked it! Please review! Reviews _will_ make me jump for joy! Thanx!


	10. A Knife's Thin Line

A/N: Okay so i just wanted to say...THANK YOU!! Heh, thanx people for your beautiful reviews! They really lifted my spirits...and got my ass back in this chair. I had been planning on taking abreak for a few days, but i read those and just couldn't not type, so thanx for pounding some sense into my head! Here ya go!

* * *

_Axel's POV_

I heard the people cheering. How could I not? But it was kinda…on backburner? Or whatever. Sure we had heard Roxas sing during our practice but never like that.

At our practices he never had so much…emotion.

Something hit me mentally again. Another feeling of déjà vu. I shrugged it off. Probably not important anyway.

And that's when I remembered Cloud.

"Hey Rox?" He looked up at me as he set his guitar back into its case. Don't think Axel, don't think…

"Some guy named Cloud is here. He said for you to call him." Roxas went stiff. It was like a flashback from a week ago.

I was the only one close enough to hear his mumbling.

"How the hell did he find me…?" He raised his voice after that, completely unaware that I had heard him.

"Are you sure he asked for me?" I could practically see the hope radiating off him. Hope that I was wrong.

"He asked for Roxas Tetsu…" And guess who walked in? Hello again Cloud.

"Hey Roxas! Nice show." The man was smiling, but Roxas…flash back again.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" He crossed his arms and glared at the man who was supposedly his brother.

"I can't stop in to say hi to my baby brother?" Zexion and the rest had left, and I think Roxas wasn't aware of my presence anymore.

"Not when you're not supposed to know where the hell I am. How did you find me?!" It's amazing how much anger can be sent out in an even voice.

"I have just as many contacts as you Roxy. I came here to tell you that Dad is getting worried. Why'd you come here Roxas?" Yep I was definitely forgotten.

Roxas' face changed again. Oh shit.

I walked over behind Roxas and let my arm slip around his waist.

Cloud's eyes widened but I tuned him out and whispered in Roxas' ear.

"Rox? Let's get you home alright? Come on." I gently pulled him in the direction of the door. He followed robotically, not putting up any kind of fight.

Cloud didn't try to stop us either.

I'll pick up our guitars on Monday.

* * *

I drove Roxas' motorcycle (Demyx had brought me so I had no car). Roxas barely held on.

When we got back to the complex, I got another look at his face. It still had that look.

Have you ever seen, maybe in a movie or something, where a door is just being pushed and pushed, you can see how it's being warped, about to just crack under all that pressure?

Yeah. That would be what I saw in Roxas' eyes.

But I at least wanted to make sure he was inside before it happened.

I got him into my empty apartment (Reno would be working late tonight) and got him to sit on the couch.

I got on my knees in front of him, so I could look at his eyes.

"Rox? Can you tell me what's wrong?" I don't know what happened in the last three days since I realized that I had fallen for Roxas. I just didn't like seeing him like this.

That's when I realized that was what he had been, barely over a week before. When I had first seen him, this was the exact look in his eyes, but now that I've seen the difference, seen a fraction of the beauty they could be. This just cut me to the soul.

"Roxas please? Just talk to me." He shook his head barely.

"I can't Axel, I just can't" His voice was a whisper I could barely hear.

He started to shake. I had learned by now that shaking equals bad with Roxas.

"Hey, hey, it's all right. I understand if you don't want to tell me alright? I just wanna help that's all. I'm not gonna force you to tell me or anything." I was really curious but, if he didn't want to tell me I had no right to pry. If he wanted to tell me, he would.

I looked back up at him. He wasn't shaking anymore, but the tears were there, streaming down his face. This was the first time I had actually seen his face when he was crying.

I'm a wimp. I couldn't take it.

I climbed up on the couch with him and gently pulled him into my lap.

He resisted at first, but soon we were in the same position we had been in the art room.

(Okay warning all pervs reading this, turn away.) I could feel his body, like actually feel it. It's shape, the muscle. And it wasn't good. I had been right when I had thought that he was just too small. I just couldn't figure out how.

Now I knew.

I could feel his freakin ribs. His arms had muscle but I got the feeling that if that wasn't there, he'd just be skin and bone.

Wow. I am really slow. How I didn't notice this just by looking at him…I mean I noticed something was wrong but come on, I had seen his freakin stomach and not noticed a thing. Instead I had been having a mental war with the southern regions. I really wanted to hurt myself…

He had fallen asleep about ten minutes ago while my mind had been lost to thinking about how he was messed up in the body.

I gently pried his fingers off my shirt (a rather hard task actually) and laid him down on the couch. He immediately curled into a ball still asleep.

A knock came at the door. Who the hell?

I opened it a fraction…and shut it immediately.

I don't think Cloud needs to be here right now. Of course, I couldn't telepathically tell him that…I locked the chain (yes my door has a chain lock. What? It's not exactly the best of neighborhoods) and opened it again.

"Is that really necessary?" He was standing there with his arms crossed, his foot tapping impatiently. He didn't look like the type of guy to do that often.

"Since Roxas is sleeping and I don't want you to storm in waking him up? Yes." See? I can reason. When I want to. Most of the time I just don't…whoa Axel, let's come back to reality shall we?

"Who are you to say I can't see my own brother?"

"I don't give a shit if you are brothers. What I do care about is my friend. And until he tells me to let you in, you're stuck on the other side of this door. Goodbye." I started to shut it.

"Can you at least do one thing for me? I'll leave if you'll say you'll do it and come back at a better time." Heck no. I pushed harder on the door which now had his hand impeding it's closing journey.

"If you don't I'll stay here knocking on the door all night." Dammit…well…if it makes him go, I guess it can't be all bad…and I don't really have to do anything if I don't want to…yes, that is a terrible thought, but this guy had made Roxas cry. I didn't owe him anything.

"Check his arms. Don't ask, just do it." With that, he disappeared down the hall.

What the? Check his…arms…

_He had just turned the underside of his arm towards me a little bit more. Were those…?_

I mentally bitch-slapped myself again. Here I had been wondering why his arms were wrapped in the art room…and why I only ever saw him in long sleeves…except tonight.

I walked quietly back over to the couch, leaning down next to it.

I scanned his arm (he had turned so one was hanging off the couch) and gave a mental sigh. There was nothing…one sec…

His skin was two different colors. The light had been bad at the school, making it impossible to see, but now…

Unless Roxas just has bad skin, I'm going to guess it's cover up…the color for that stuff is never quite right. (Yes I know this from experience…don't ask…I will give one hint, Demyx…there that's it…)

I gently blew at it, hoping I wasn't right.

Double dammit. I was.

I rubbed what was left off, trying hard not to shake the sleeping boy anymore than I needed to.

It came off smoothly enough. Revealing what was beneath.

I sat back, just staring at them. Crisscrossing lines. Some shiny-white with age, others were just now scabbing over, and still others were puffy and red…new ones... I had the sinking feeling the other arm would be the same.

I sat there, back against the coffee table, just watching Roxas sleep. One thought. One thought kept playing through my mind.

What the hell happened to you Roxas?

* * *

Disclaimer: Sigh. This time i can claim nothing and i very well may never claim anything in this story again...So yeah me own nothing

A/N: You guys hate me right now don't you? A really long chapter and then this short wimpy one? I would hate me too. I had planned for this chap to be longer but as i got closer and closer to the end of it, the end kinda just came to me...so technically it's not my fault, it's my subconsience and fingers faults...anyway, i alreaddy say this but thank you so much for your awesome reviews, those were the best i had read yet! Please review some more! Who know? It mught convince my brain to make longer chapters! Thanx!


	11. One vs Another

A/N: Hiya! Thank you so much! I officially love everyone!! Escpecially people who reviewed!! I can't beleive how well this story is going! it being my first i didn't expect nearly as many people to like this story! Thank you so much guys!

* * *

_Axel's POV_

Roxas didn't start to stir for another half hour after Cloud left.

The minute he moved, I was gone. I'm sorry but I don't want to scare him. Have you ever woken up to someone with bright red hair staring at you? I have…it's one of Reno's favorite things to do on the weekend…And it is creepy as hell…

I could still see him though. That's what I like about my kitchen. There's no real separation between it and the living room except a counter.

Okay. Please shoot me now. I'm begging you!

He's just too goddamit cute! Yes that is a pathetic reason, but until you've seen him…Okay I'm rambling again…Anyway…

He sat up, looking around all wide eyed.

"A-Axel?"

I smiled. At least he still had his memory. Most people who cry themselves to sleep in a strange house don't for a few minutes (also known from experience…I blame Larxene for once)

"In here. You hungry?" I silently sent a prayer to whatever higher being was up there that for once we might have food in the house.

I was lucky. I found cereal and milk that wasn't actually past its expiration date…A rare find in this house.

"Mm-hm." His face was still odd. I couldn't tell what he was thinking…

* * *

_Roxas' POV (A/N I said it would be here and here it is!)_

I was beyond confused. Why wasn't I sore? Why wasn't I bleeding?

Seifer never let me fall asleep when I cried…he never let me cried either, especially not _on_ him.

Why wasn't Axel yelling at me? Why wasn't he telling me how useless and pathetic I was? Why wasn't he…? I shivered. No need to think about that part…

But why was Axel doing anything? He was actually offering me food…not a common occurrence from anyone I knew. Except Cloud…no. He probably hates me as much as everyone else now…

I didn't mean to be so harsh to him, but if what he said was true, Dad could've had people watching me. I had wanted to…I don't know what I wanted. But either way, it was far beyond me now. Cloud hated me, and Axel…

I was still confused about him.

I had never met anyone like him. He had yet to yell at me. He had held me, helped me…I felt tears sting my eyes. Knowing it would end soon hurt more than it ever had. And I don't know why.

A hand suddenly appeared in front of my face. And I did the stupidest thing in the world. I flinched. Here it was…I knew the pain was coming…

"Yo Rox! Thought I lost you there for a sec." Huh? Why didn't he slap me?

Axel was something I just couldn't figure out.

But then again…Seifer had been the same. Haven't I been punished enough?...I could practically here my brain laughing at me…what a stupid question…

* * *

_Axel's POV_

Roxas didn't eat much…I began to wonder if I had been wrong about the expiration date on that milk…before someone knocked on the door again.

"Be right back Rox." I walked off, mumbling about spiky haired blondes that needed to be cut off at the knees…

…Well…neither of them had spiky hair. And one of them wasn't blonde.

"Axel? Why do you have the chain lock on?"

"Uh…Some really annoying tall person."

"You can only be in one place at a time Axel, how'd that work?"

"Ha ha Larxene. For that you can just stay out there with Demy and Zexy." Heh, that got Zexion's attention.

"Come on let us in." I laughed.

"Do you really think I would leave you out there?" I paused to think.

"Hmm…I might if Lar…"I never got the chance to finish. I had been unlocking the chain while talking and the minute it was gone, Demyx and Larxene tagged up against me and pushed on the door.

I held them for a second before stepping away from the door.

And down they go.

"Hey guys." I looked down at them smiling like the idiot Larxene thought I was.

Next thing I knew, there was a boot in my face. And I joined Larxene and Dem on the ground.

"Dammit Zexion! What was that for?" Yes I was whining. Deal with it.

"Insulting my boyfriend and refusing to give up that offending nickname."

"For such a short guy, you can kick man." Zexion was actually about the same size as Roxas maybe an inch or two taller. Heh, short people…

"Well come on in. I don't see the point in kicking you out since I'm pretty sure you won't leave…"

…was Roxas laughing at us? I turned back to where I had left the little blonde.

Bye-bye heart.

* * *

Roxas had left about an hour ago, saying he needed to go check on Hoshii and the pups.

…And that's when me and Demyx got into a fight over video games…Demyx is vicious man…

The radio was put on full blast (most likely annoying the hell out of anyone within fifty feet of my apartment if not more) shuffle and we had put in any random cd we could find (and I do mean _find_).

Just when I was about to finally beat Demyx, Zexion had to step in front of the screen.

"Zexy!" Not me this time. So I didn't get kicked in the face. Only Demyx has Zexion's expressed permission to call him Zexy. Does that stop me? Nope.

"Shush it and listen." Listen to what? The only thing I heard was the noise from two cars crashing on screen and a SH song. I think it was called Death of my Soul (really long Japanese name that I can't remember).

"What Zexion?" He looked at me, practically screaming with his eyes "idiot!"

"Does this cong sound at all familiar?" Well it better. I owned the cd. And so told Zexion. And got kicked in the face again. What is with short people and kicking?!

"Think back a bit sooner Axel. Something that happened not three hours ago…" Uh…wait…

I listened harder. Holy…shit…

"_You like ShukketsuHatsu?" How did he…oh right…the shirt._

"_Uh, yeah? They're my favorite. Why?"_

_He shrugged. "Not many people like Japanese music up here. You can't understand Japanese can you?" I shook my head. I wish._

"_Do you like them?" He looked at me weirdly then. Only for a second. Then his gaze was that same cold again._

"_Not anymore. They're popular where I'm from though." Hm._

**_-_**

_There was no more news. Except…Hikage hadn't appeared at the last concert. It had been two days ago in Tokyo. Well…that's interesting. The article said he just never showed up. Even the rest of the band was confused._

"_Hikage never showed up huh?"_

_-_

_Sure we had heard Roxas sing during our practice but never like that._

_At our practices he never had so much…emotion._

_Something hit me mentally again. Another feeling of déjà vu. I shrugged it off. Probably not important anyway._

I stared at Zexion, finally understanding.

"…he never showed…"

"Hikage never showed up to the biggest concert of Shukketsu Hatsu's career. Roxas moves here right after Hikage is said to be missing." This is why I keep Zexion around…and the fact that Demyx, yes Demyx, would kill me if I said otherwise.

"What about Ukahara? You said it yourself Zexy. They do look alike, and they disappeared around the same time. If Roxas is Hikage, which is still highly unlikely, what about Hikage and Ukahara?" Thank you Demyx.

"Yo Larxene!" Said insect girl (my affectionate nickname for her, on account of her antennas) had been listening to separate music on my computer.

"What Pyro?"

"You still go that magazine?" She nodded and dug around in her bag, coming over to see what we needed it for. Zexion quickly outlined his assumptions.

"His brother's name is Cloud isn't it? That's the same as Ukahara's brother." Zexion please let me actually open the magazine. Otherwise you're gonna make Axel's brain go mushroom cloud. And no one wants that.

I read over the article again.

Okay, I could believe Roxas was Hikage (believe? Wrong word. I was willing to accept it…once I heard Roxas say it. Yes I am stubborn thank you for pointing that out.)

"There's no way. Even _if _Roxas is Hikage, if being the key word there, there's no way Roxas can be the same stuck up snob as Ukahara. It's just a coincidence." All three of them looked at me with odd expressions. They were basically saying I was in denial. And you know what? I will be until Roxas tells me otherwise. Magazines are known for lying. You can't take this stuff seriously.

They left in another fifteen minutes, each for various reasons.

You know what?

It felt weird to be alone in the apartment. I wouldn't normally mind it, but…the memory of Roxas crying, in my house…it haunted me.

Whatever happened to "I like my life"?

* * *

Disclaimer: Okay i just noticed i do own something! Shukketsu Hatsu is a figment of my imagination! Therefore it is mine!! HAHA!! But other than that i still own nothing...dammit...

A/N: Hiya people!! Thank you so much for the lovely reviews!! They are seriously all that's keeping me on my feet right now! I'm having another bad case of writer's block that you guys can help fix! It's nothing big, i just need you to answer one question...

Do you guys want to actually see Seifer show up?

I can wirte either way but i don't know which would be better. Problem is if i don't get some idea soon i'm gonna go with good old randomness and pick one randomly. So please! Please! But as always, more important to me than that is of course review! Please review and i will give you...um...AKuRoku posters!!


	12. Something Not Seen

A/N: Hiya people! Thanx for the lovely reviews! I have over fifty now! Is that a record of any kind for first time writers? No? Oh well, to me it is a record and i will treasure it forever! On with the story!

* * *

_Axel's POV_

I didn't see Roxas for the rest at all on Saturday…but Sunday. Well, I heard him first…

Kinda hard not to when he's on the phone right outside my door. Sometimes people around here can't get signals in their houses. It is really annoying, like really annoying to get a perfect signal one step outside your door and yet not be able to step inside. It's a phone conspiracy!

Ahem. Anyway…

He was practically yelling. Scratch that. He _was_ yelling.

And he was doing it in Japanese. Wanna know how I knew that?

I blame Shukketsu Hatsu but I can recognize most Japanese cusswords…And Roxas was practically yelling them at the top of his lungs.

They got quieter though. Slowly.

I was listening in again, like I had tried to do the first day he had shown up. I was having much more success though.

He started repeating one word. No.

He was scared again. Where one moment he had been angry and ready to rip someone's head off (that was not an exaggeration…you didn't hear him). Now…he had also switched to English which was a good thing for me. I should feel bad about spying on my friend, but if it's something that can make him that scared…

"No Seifer…I'm not coming back. I can't…" It is very hard to hear whispers through a wooden door. Hard, but I caught it.

Seifer? As in Shukketsu Hatsu's Seifer? As in the Seifer I had seen in the pictures with Roxas? The one's he had been smiling in?

Wouldn't he be happy to talk to his boyfriend? Why was he so scared? Too many god damned questions.

_Sora was off the ground, Roxas' hand on his collar._

"_I don't have a fucking boyfriend."_

"No please don't! Please…Alright. I'll come pick you up tomorrow. I won't be late…"

A knock on the door landed me on my ass. At least I'm getting practice at recovering from surprises…

Guess who…Roxas stood there. If anything, and if this is even possible, he looked smaller than when I had last seen him. He looked…I don't know. But I managed to keep an easy going face…at least…I hope I did…ever have those moments when you really want to see how others see you? Precisely…

"H-hey Axel…um…this is gonna sound weird, but…can I stay over here tonight? I mean, I understand if you say no since I live right nex…" I put a finger over his mouth. Only way to get him to be quiet without possibly coming off as mean. Even an idiot like me could guess why he wanted to stay over here.

That room had an entire wall of him and Seifer. From his reaction to Seifer calling, I'm guessing he didn't want him to know where he was. I don't know what happened between them, but I will swear it now.

If Seifer was in anyway responsible for turning Roxas into this…there is no word to describe what I saw. But if he had anything to do with it, I will swear to whatever higher being who is bothering to listen (goddamit! I will make them listen if I have to!) I will make sure Seifer regrets it.

* * *

We didn't say much at all. Maybe a word or two. It was scary…

* * *

Monday morning, he was already gone, a simple note left on the table.

_Thank you, can you tell Xemnas I'll be late to school?_

Well…okay then. He was picking up Seifer, that much I knew.

Okay place me maybe two years back, the mere mention of Seifer's name would have sent me to fan central. Now…I just didn't care. There was a reason Roxas was scared of Seifer. And I would find what it was.

* * *

Xemnas wasn't exactly happy to hear that Roxas wasn't going to be here, but he'll live with it. We did basically nothing since Xemnas was a lazy ass and didn't really care what we did…at least for a little while. Give him another week and that would change. Fast.

* * *

Roxas hadn't showed up by the beginning of lunch and I was starting to worry. Demyx must have noticed, because he started poking me.

Now, make no mistake, Demyx pokes hurt. Especially when he keeps doing it in the same part of your arm over and over and over again.

I sighed. Fine Dem, you win… "What Dem?"

"You seem upset. What's wrong?" No duh I'm upset. Roxas was…I don't know. I just know that it doesn't take this long to get to the airport and back…

And speak of the devil (coughangelcough), Roxas walked through the doors a second later.

And boy did he look like shit.

His shirt (favorite black turtleneck) was ripped at the bottom, the pants were shredded at the knees…his hair stood every which way (he was trying to fix that problem right now…it wasn't working too well). There was also something wrong with his face.

Not like an emotion wrong. It was drawn and desolate like it had been last night, but something was off…what the hell was it?

"Roxas!" Demyx was gone. And promptly dragging (he drags everything) Roxas behind him. The smaller blonde smiled weakly.

"Hey Rox. What took you so long?" I tried to stay calm. Inside my brain was raging. What was it?!

"The traffic. And Seifer's flight got delayed." A little too fast there. Prepared. Liar. Might as well put a big sign above his head that said it.

"Well at least you're here right? I heard Ms. Kotta is sick, so the art room is open to anyone who wants to even come. Hang out there after lunch?" He relaxed minutely, but still, it was an improvement. Art equals good.

* * *

I stared at my canvas. The sky didn't look right to me, but I couldn't decide if I should make it brighter or darker. Demyx and Zexion were quietly over in one corner, Demyx working on his project, Zexion watching and reading his book. Larxene was messing with some clay, and Roxas had disappeared into his little room across the hall.

It was dead silent…

"Can someone help me?" That made all of us jump. I hadn't realized that it was a comfortable silence, one you don't expect to end.

"Yeah Rox. What do you need?" It might help me think if I took a break.

"I just need to carry a couple jars of water across the hall, but I only have so many hands…" He shrugged.

"Sure." I grabbed a few as did he. So he was finally starting with serious paint? Cool. I found myself really wanting to see it…

Did I ever mention how clumsy I am?

If you can't guess what just happened, you are worse than Demyx on a sugar high…

Anyway, I tripped, pitched forward into Roxas, and we both went down. Water splattered everywhere. As did glass…oops…

And all of this in the five feet between classrooms…

I shook myself off, trying to get as mush water as I could off my hair and shirt. Fat help that did me…

I looked over at Roxas.

Two things were noticed.

One, he was holding his right cheek. I saw a thin line of red running from under his hand…oh shit…Great Axel just great…

Two, the water around him, and dripping from his face had an odd milky color to it…powder. That's what had made his face seem odd. The entire left side had been covered in powder in an effort to cover up…

…a black and blue bruise that stopped just shy of his eye, but covered all the way down to his jaw line.

That hadn't been there last night. I felt myself grow cold.

* * *

Disclaimer: As usual, i don't own anything...i can't even claim Shukketsu Hatsu for this chap becuase they didn't show up...

A/N: Im really sorry for the shortness and crappiness of this chapter, but writers block and the fact that i've been awake for two straight days...too much sugar adn adrenaline...that stuff will kill me...anyway, i am sorry if this chapter sucked more than usual, so i won't blame anyone if no one reviews until i get a semidecent chapter up, but as an author i must ask, for the sake of my sanity, please review! Please! Thanx!

P.S. Am i going to fast? TO me it seems like the story is unfolding too fast, so please let me know if i need to slow it down or something! Thanx!


	13. Reasons Aren't Needed Here

A/N: Heya people! Thanx for sticking wiht me through that last chapter. I really don't know what was going through my head when i wrote it. BUt yeah it's there and i can't really do anything about it...hopefully this chapter is better! Thanx again!

* * *

_Axel's POV_

"Roxas? Can I see?" I don't think he noticed the lack of powder on his face.

The cut was red, but only the corner bled. I gave him one of the tissues stuffed in my pocket (a habit of mine ever since Zexion started kicking me in the face).

"Come on, let's try that again shall we?" He nodded and I picked up as much broken ceramic as I could, following him back into the classroom.

Larxene came up behind me while I was at the sink refilling several jars. Roxas was trying to find something back in the supply closet I think.

"What the hell happened? Where'd that bruise com…"

"I don't know." She got the hint and left.

Me and Roxas actually made it across the hall this time and set down the jars in the next room with no further accident (a rare incident that…for me anyway).

"Hey Roxas?" He must've noticed something weird either in my voice…or the fact that I used his full name. Haven't done that for a while.

"The powder's gone." He looked at me, eyes wide, hand on his face.

"The water must've washed it off." His panicked look was setting me on edge.

"Uh…yeah…I fell on the way to my car this morning…" Again with the liar sign…

"Roxas. Please don't lie to me. I'm not asking you to tell me what happened unless you want to. Just don't lie to me. I just want to know if it was an accident." He dropped his eyes and nodded.

That hurt. It really did. He was still lying.

Goddamit. I don't know what that was directed at. Either Roxas' fear, or Seifer. I knew it was him.

* * *

"Hey Rox? Can I catch a ride with you? Demyx and Larxene have work today and my brother stole the car." He nodded. He hadn't looked at my face once since I had seen his bruise.

* * *

When we got to the apartment, Roxas was gone. Like, speeding bullet gone. I followed close behind, not running, just walking fast.

And because of that, I managed to catch a bit of the conversation before his door closed.

"…o the hell was that, you little whore?!" I heard something else. It sounded like a whimper.

It hurt me like nothing else to walk in my own door and shut it. It felt like my heart was being ripped in half. One half still on the other side of the door.

I walked past Reno, completely ignoring him, and walked to my room.

I did something I haven't done in a long time.

I sat down…and cried. I cried. Because I was too much of a wuss to help Roxas. I was too worried about what he might think of me to try to help him. My anger was now directed at myself.

I had always stood back, never really taking notice of much.

When Mom and Dad died, it had gotten worse. Because I had known why they died. It was the reason that kept me away from Friday night parties. It was the reason I nearly beat Sora into a bloody pulp last year for trying to offer me something.

Mom and Dad had died in a car crash, running into a pole. They had both died instantly, according to the police who got there five minutes later.

They had been drinking. According to the blood tests taken soon after, both of them had drunk enough to kill most normal people. They had been at a party, gotten drunk and no one had been willing to drive them home.

When Roxas said he didn't like people, I could've easily said the same thing.

I was eight and Reno was eleven. But…he might as well have been twenty. Reno grew up. I stayed a little kid. I also grew more reserved, more…distant.

If it hadn't been for Reno, I never would've been able to hold myself up once we were alone.

He must've known. I don't know how long I sat there, being disgusted at myself, before I heard the door open and close. The lights stayed off, and how he found his way to my bed without tripping is a mystery, but he was there, and I soon found myself in much the same position Roxas had been.

Brothers don't need a reason. Friends don't either.

* * *

I had fallen asleep. It was also now about eleven. That's all of the clock I could see.

Voices were coming from the living room…but the headache that was blooming behind my eyes kept me in bed.

* * *

_Normal POV_

The four just looked at each other.

The one redhead had claimed the chair, one of the blondes was sitting in the chair by the computer, and the other blonde and purple haired boys were on the couch.

"Reno, can you please tell me why I had to tell my mom to put my dinner in the fridge so I could eat it later." Reno sighed. He had known just from watching his brother and his friends that Larxene was impatient, but it was very annoying to see it in person.

"Can you tell me why my brother just walked in earlier and broke apart? He hasn't fucking cried since our parents died." _That got their attention _Reno thought. He was seriously troubled. His brother hadn't cried like that in a long time.

"H…he what?" That was the other blonde, who was currently clutching an annoyed looking purple-ette to his chest.

Demyx had never heard of Axel crying. Not once. And he had known Axel going on ten years now.

He remembered when he met the redhead actually.

_Flashback_

_The little blonde ran away, crying. Riku was always mean to him. Calling him weak. Girly._

_He didn't expect to see anyone there. He had run to his favorite hiding spot. A giant tree about half a block from the school. It overlooked the park and was the perfect place to watch but not be watched._

_Another boy was there. Just watching as the other kids played._

_Demyx forgot all about Riku. The blonde may not have been the smartest, but he was sensitive to emotions. Always had been. The other boy…there was no emotion. Demyx could feel it at the base of the tree. It was cold._

_His own tears forgotten, he climbed up beside the boy, just then noticing how bright red his hair was._

"_You okay?" The boy jumped. He had been too distracted watching other kids to notice the little blonde beside him._

"_I'm fine." Demyx frowned. He knew the other was lying, he just didn't know how to get him to open up. No thought of just leaving him alone even passed through his mind._

"_No you're not. Come on. Tell me please? I won't tell anyone. Zexion says that when people are upset, it's best to tell someone why." The redhead was looking at him now. Then he snorted in a way that reminded Demyx of his best friend Zexion._

"_What would you care? You don't know me." Zexion had said the same thing to Demyx when the two had first met. The same response was also used._

"_No I don't. But I would like to." Demyx knew he wasn't smart like Zexion, wasn't strong like his other friend Larxene, but he could understand many things they couldn't. Like how friendship is all some people needed._

_The boy stared at Demyx again. It had been a long time since anyone had come near him. A lot of the kids just didn't like him. Called him weird, different. Just because he was never open. He never liked to talk._

_He told Demyx. Everything. How he was bullied. How his parents had just died._

_He didn't realize till the end he still didn't know the blonde's name._

"_I'm Axel by the way." He smiled. It was his first in many months._

"_Demyx." His smile was blinding. "Come on, you should Meet Zex and Larxene. You'd like them." Axel nodded, happy for the first time in a long time. Maybe life wasn't as hopeless as he had thought._

_End flashback_

They had been nearly inseparable ever since, even when Zexion and Demyx finally acknowledged their blaringly obvious like of each other.

The fact that Axel had cried distressed him.

"Yeah. He came home looking like a zombie, walked to his room and broke. I was wondering if any of you have any idea why." Actually, Reno was tearing up his insides, hoping.

Demyx, Zexion, and Larxene traded glances, making Reno feel decidedly uncomfortable. He had forgotten how close his brother's group was.

"We don't…know. But, I can pretty much assure you, it has something to do with Roxas."

"My neighbor?" _Why would that boy…oh…_ All three nodded.

"And why exactly would he be the cause of this?"

"Axel's gotten a lot closer to him than any of us. I mean, he's our friend too, but I think only Demyx has actually talked to him alone besides Axel. There's something between them." Demyx didn't add what he had seen the day Roxas had gotten pissed at Sora.

"Like…dating something?" Larxene shook her head.

"No. Look Reno. We don't know. We just know this kid shows up, all but screaming to be left alone. The next thing we know, Axel is friends with him. You'd have to ask Axel if you want more of an answer." Reno nodded.

"Thanks guys. You can go home. Axel's still asleep I hope." The last part was more to himself than anything. The three kids left quietly.

Reno went back to his brother's room…actually he just stood in the doorway, watching him.

It had hurt him to see his brother cry. His brother had always been the strong one.

Of course, to Axel, that wasn't true. But in Reno's mind, Axel was the only thing he had had left when their parents died. And in all truth, Axel had gotten over their death long before he had.

Reno sighed. He needed his brother, and his brother needed him. But even so, Reno realized, he might not be enough this time.

He closed the door and went back to the living room. _Too much thinking for one night._

* * *

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nada. Zip. okay? Okay.

A/N: Hiya people! Okay i'm really sorry no Seifer harm has been used yet, but i kinda wanted to go for a little more emotional chapter on Axel's part. I hope i succeeded. And even if i didn't, i actually like this chap. So anyway, please review!! I love seeing them! Thanx guys!


	14. Supposed Lover is an Enemy or Bastard

A/N: Hiya! Thank you for all the reviews! They were amazing! And some people are finally getting mad at me! Yay! I know, i'm probably one of the few people who would be happy about tha but...i kinda wanted someone to be, just to show that i could stir up more emotions than just pity, saddness, and happiness and all that jazz...if any of you understood that, i congratulate you, because i sure didn't...anyways, on with the story!

_

* * *

__Axel's POV_

_The next day_

I was busy ignoring Xemnas and trying not to notice headache that was lurking right behind my eyes. It hadn't disappeared last night. Oh no. It had decided to move in. And invite a few friends.

Probably the reason it took me till lunch to notice what Roxas was wearing. It wasn't…different per say. Oh no. I had seen him in it before.

It was his outfit from the concert thing. (I checked his arms and he was wearing cover up again.) The bruise couldn't be seen on his face, but a ton of cover up couldn't hide the dark circles beneath his eyes.

Needless to say, despite the dark circles, he was attracting a lot of attention. From guys and girls. Just a little bit more discreetly on the formers' part. Not that any guy in our school was afraid of being gay…they had just heard what happened to Riku, that's all.

"Roxas? Hello? You zoney midget!" Larxene had finally dropped the snowman nickname, but was now desperately trying to find another one.

She snapped her fingers in front of his face. He winced before his eyes came back into focus.

"Sorry…" He probably would have said more…if a hand hadn't slipped around his shoulders.

I didn't wonder who the guy was. Heck I still had his poster (I am lazy but the thing is coming down tonight…I'll probably stick it in the microwave for good measure too…)

His blonde hair looked weird without that beanie thing I had always seen him wear. But you know what? I could really care less. All that I really noticed was how Roxas' skin seemed to be a breeding ground for goose bumps…most prominently where Seifer was touching him.

"Roxy! Aren't you going to introduce me?" I just stared at him. The voice I had heard through the door yesterday came back in my mind. Complete switch. Damn…he was…good.

"S-sorry. Everyone this is Seifer," Said son of a bitch must've done something because Roxas flinched again and quickly added something, "my boyfriend. Seifer, that's Axel, Larxene, Zexion, and Demyx…" His voice had grown quiet, completely breaking off at the end.

"Nice to meet you. Sorry guys but I've got to borrow my ikeike here for a few minutes." I resisted letting my jaw drop. I saw the other three fighting similar urges, including Zexion. All of us had heard enough Japanese cussing, and had looked up plenty more.

He had just called Roxas his…bitch.

He must have assumed that since Japanese music wasn't popular up here, no one would be able to understand him. I clenched my hand and nodded. Everyone else did the same.

When they were gone, Demyx, yes Demyx was the first to speak, beating me by a second…a fraction of a second…

"What the fuck?!" The surrounding tables went quiet for a second. Let me make this clear. Demyx doesn't cuss. Demyx doesn't get mad. Or when he does get mad, he hides it until Zexion (or me and Larxene occasionally) can calm him down.

"Demyx. Quiet." I told them what I had heard yesterday. They just stared at me.

"Goddamit!" That would be Larxene. What I wanted to say would most likely put me on three most wanted lists and have my house monitored by the FBI. What I wanted to do…let's just say it would most likely make me public enemy number one.

"No wonder that song had so much emotion in it." We stared at Zexion blankly.

"His song for the concert idiots. Not many people can write emotion without experience." Holy shit…he was right…

We had only seen a little part of Roxas, me more than them and yet…is it possible to feel this much for someone after only knowing their shadow for two weeks?

* * *

Roxas came back right before the bell rang for us to get our asses moving to our next class.

He was even paler and his hair was messed up. Not like…tornado messed up…more like, it was just ruffled and I tried to fix it, messed up. If that makes any sense whatsoever.

We had agreed to say nothing and do nothing, for the time being. Zexion had to kick me in the face twice (notice the new bruise on my cheek?!) and Larxene had to threaten to tell Reno everything she knew.

It wasn't the threats I cared about. Hell no. It was the fact that if I acted to recklessly, I might screw up and just make it worse. I felt my heart tear every time I told myself that.

Roxas noticed my new bruise, courtesy of an annoyed Zexion, and was by my side immediately, jerking my face towards the light.

"What happened?" I think only I could hear him, his voice was so quiet. Hoarse.

"Zexion had a spaz attack?" I smiled and twitched. That hurt… I tried to look at his eyes…

There's a look I haven't seen before.

It looked like…worry? What the hell... it was just a tiny…and painful bruise.

"And why would Zexion of all people be having a spaz attack?" he did have a point.

"I was being too loud and interrupting the vampire's beauty sleep." I dodged something. I don't know what it was, but something whizzed past my head. Ya missed, nya nya nya. I hissed.

"Ow Roxas!"

"Oh quit being a baby. If he hit the bone that's gonna hurt a lot longer and there will be so many things that could irritate it and make it last longer not even you could laugh at it." I shut up, remembering the bruise on his face. How many times has he had to deal with this?

"Lucky. He missed the bone. But I believe it would be in your best interests to not interrupt the…vampire's…beauty sleep anymore." The bell rang.

* * *

Ms. Kotta was still gone. Something about something or another…ah well. Most of the class decided to skip…and by most, I mean all but me and Roxas.

"Do you need any help before I start on mine again Rox?" He nodded and handed me a couple of containers of charcoal pencils. Okay then.

(No accidents this time.)

I just stared at the canvas. Even with only shadows of colors in the lines it was still…beautiful.

The central object was coming into focus now. A heart. Simple right? Not. There were actually three hearts. Each one inside the other.

He had just started coloring in the outer and biggest one. Black with random lines of silver…chains over a black heart.

Yes it was creepy, but so had that angel been. But they were both beautiful.

He didn't even seem to notice I was still in the room as he took a dark blue pencil to a corner.

And that's my cue to leave.

…and by leave I mean bump into someone right outside the door. Literally. But hey, guess what? I didn't fall on my ass again! Yay me!

…and there goes my happiness. If you can't guess who I bumped into by that one statement, I'll give you another. The bastard in front of me needed to have five inch wide stakes driven into his skull. You get it now?

Seifer stared at me coolly. Hatefully cold.

"Axel, right?" I nodded. This bastard was lucky to get that from me. "I was just wondering if you could tell me something." It took all my will (and that just barely covered it) to not just punch him in the face.

I shrugged.

"What's Roxas to you?" He said it so…calmly. Anyone who hadn't heard his other voice might have been lured to tell him everything. Not me loser. My brain had another thing in mind though…dammit…

"He's my friend. Why?" I tried to recover my stupidity by acting calm and innocent. But…I knew just by looking in Seifer's eyes that my statement was more than enough. I had blown it.

Seifer was the territorial kind. The one that denies their partner any human contact that they can.

And I had just invaded that space.

I kicked myself in the mind. Hard. Hard enough to make Zexion's kick look like a toddler trying to be a wrestler.

Seifer was going to hurt Roxas. And all because I had said I was his friend.

That's it. I may not have known Roxas well, but no one deserves that much hate in their supposed lover's eyes. I could care less if I messed up.

Because I can assure you. I won't.

* * *

Discalimer: me own nothing as usual...oh wait...i do! I own the picture Roxy is drawing! THe idea was mine...i know it's not alot to claim righ tnow, but it will be! Soon, very very soon...-evil cackle-

A/N: Hi people! My writer's block has dissapeared!! And if your asking then why the hell is this chapter so short? well...heh, i blame my mind again. If it get's an idea for an ending to a chapter it will do all in its power to make sure that that's what happens. I've tried to go against it ONCE...-shiver- never again man...anyway, thanx again for all the lovely reviews! They're what keep my ass in this chair for hours on end...literally (what you think i can write this much in under an hour? Psh...i wish...you guys are lucky i have no life)! Please continue doing what you have been so great at and review!


	15. For A Mother's Love

A/N: Hiya people! Oh my lord i had another bout with writer's block but hey it's gone again! Yay! Anyway thanx for the reviews! I nearly cried during this chap although i don't think it's written well...it sounded so goo din my mind too...oh well hope you like it!

* * *

_Roxas' POV_

He was finally asleep.

No more pain for the night. He had been really mad tonight. Just another sign that I'm not worth his attention. I'm lucky he gives it to me.

Tonight I don't even know why he took me so harshly.

I shivered. The thought of him in me after so long…

I looked at her picture again. I knew she was beautiful. But I couldn't see how so many people said I looked like her. Not that many knew her.

She was so happy in this picture. Her blonde hair swept aside. Her smile as blinding as the sun behind her. She didn't deserve to die so young. She didn't deserve to die at all.

Especially not giving birth to me.

* * *

_Normal POV_

_Flashback 18 years ago_

_The man was tall, dark, and the doctors around him had already figured out he was violent. He wouldn't leave the girl._

_They went back to their work. Why this man had brought this poor girl, barely sixteen, in was apparent. She was giving birth. And soon._

_What wasn't apparent was why he knew about her at all. He had said she was his niece. No one believed him._

_They had tried to make him leave the room. He had none of it, refusing to move. Mr. Ukahara was a big man. A big man with money, connections. You didn't mess with him._

"_Mr. Ukahara? I assume you are aware of your…niece's pneumonia?" The doctor in charge of the situation had discovered the girl's sickness the moment she was wheeled in._

_The birth was going to be rough, and she was already almost wasted away to nothing._

_She wasn't going to make it._

"_Can you save the child?" The doctor sighed in his mind. The man didn't care about his so called 'niece'. Probably didn't really care about the child either._

"_We…we don't know. The child is early. It might be too small." With that, the doctor walked back to the table._

_During that entire conversation, people had been yelling, calling for various medicines. Help._

_Fifteen minutes later, the child was being cleaned. It hadn't cried. Not once._

_The nurse looked down at the pitiful thing in her arms, even as she watched the heart monitor hooked up to the girl on the table. The beeping was slowing._

_The babe in her arms was pale, a light down of blonde hair capping his head._

_She tried once again to start his heart._

_A shuddering breath and a tiny cry was all she needed to burst out crying. The child would live._

"_May I see him?" The nurse jumped, almost waking the boy. She nodded numbly, her mind screaming at her not to give the angel in her arms to the man._

_She had no choice._

"_Mr. Ukahara? I'm sorry but…your niece…she's dead." Two nurses were in the corner crying. It wasn't often they couldn't save a mother to be._

"_I can see that." The doctor stumbled. He had nearly forgotten who he was dealing with._

_The man bent his mouth to the sleeping babe's ears._

"_You killed her. And I'll never let you forget it, little Roxas. Never." The babe woke then. And wailed. With his lungs so weak though, it was nothing compared to what it should have been._

_The nurses bowed their heads. They hadn't heard what Ukahara had said to his 'nephew', But what they did know was far more important. A babe's first cry should be for its mother. Not for fear._

_Not that the boy, as he grew up ever knew. Oh no. When Ukahara promises something, he never backs down. The boy was told that his mother had committed suicide after giving birth to him. He even had a letter to prove it. The boy grew up, knowing, just knowing, he had killed his mother. A girl of sixteen._

* * *

_Axel's POV_

_Saturday…_

I was dead. Morning had become something of dread for me in the past couple days. Roxas had stopped talking to us. He would go off with Seifer the minute the lunch bell rang.

And dear lord help me, it took all three of my friends to hold me down.

They didn't know about this morning. They hadn't heard Roxas' muffled screams or the whimpers I would hear later on. _Through the damn wall_.

Before I could get awake enough this morning though (Reno was gone thank the lord), someone was at my door.

I looked through the eyepiece (what do you call those things). I didn't want to deal with my friends right now.

No such luck as just shaking them off.

It was Cloud again. I sighed. If he was over here again…

"What Cloud?" I was trying to be civil. I really was. It just wasn't working…

"You hear them don't you?" That made me blush…I'm assuming almost as red as my hair. That's what Reno or Larxene would probably say anyway. Its not one of the most comfortable things talking about your neighbors like that.

"Uh…yeah…what about it?" Calm and reserved…calm and reserved…calm and reser…screw it! I wasn't and I knew it.

"Could you give this to Roxas?" He shoved a black bound book at me and started to walk off.

"Wait!" He stopped and looked over his shoulder at me.

"I was wondering…if you knew about him and Seifer why didn't you…you know?"

"Put a stop to it?" I nodded. "Because I couldn't save him, even if he would have let me." With that he walked away leaving me completely frozen.

Well then…I looked down at the book in my hands.

It turned out to be a journal. One of those older ones with the string wraparound.

There was a paper sticking out if it, which I pulled out and looked at. Impersonal that's me all the way.

It was a letter…to Roxas…I tried to tear my eyes away…it didn't work.

_My dearest son,_

_I hope this will get to you long before that man has been able to tell you otherwise. If it isn't then maybe this can help right at least one of the wrongs he's done. I got sick right before you were born. And if you are reading this then I died of it, most likely during your birth. Make no mistake, I would never blame you, or anyone but that man for what has happened. He will tell you that you killed me. You didn't. You helped me live those last few months. Your…I can' t call him your father can I? No, Ukahara, brought me into his home when I was ten. I saw in him a father that I never had. When I turned fifteen, I saw through that even before he took me._

_Dearest boy, know that no matter what you are my child, not his. Had I not been sick, I would have taken you away from him. Taken you away from that monster. You are mine, no matter who your father was. Never forget that._

_There is one more thing. I don't know what Ukahara has named you, but know that the name I chose for you was Roxas. If he named you this then maybe he finally showed respect for a last wish. But know that that is your name, chosen by me._

_I loved you the moment I knew I carried you. That love never wavered, no matter what he might have told you. I was young, but even so, had I lived know that I would never have turned you over. I would have kept you. Loved you. As I still do._

_I don' t know how old you'll be by the time you read this, I just hope with all my heart it isn't too late._

_I will love you forever,_

_Your Mother_

I shook. I felt disgusted with myself. I had no right to read this. But the damage was done. I just had to make sure Roxas got it.

I knocked on the door. It was a good five minutes before the door opened a crack. I could see Roxas' dull blue eye peek out. It widened immediately and he started to close the door.

"Rox? Please?" I gently placed my hand on the door. It stopped…that shouldn't have happened. Even a little kid can stall the door and offer a little bit of resistance. No such thing here.

"What Axel?" His voice was dry. Weak.

"Cloud wanted me to give this to you, please come out." He looked over his shoulder. I thought he'd try to call Seifer…no no and no! Look at what that bastard did to him! No one in their right mind would call that person to help…then again…I could see from here Roxas wasn't exactly right in the head…

He came out, quietly closing the door behind him.

He was covered in bruises. Anywhere the scrap of a shirt he was wearing and the loose pajama bottoms didn't cover…he was a mess. And yet…only one bruise was on his face. That one I had seen the other day.

I looked down at his neck.

That rope burn, though a bit duller, was still there as well.

I gulped, trying to suppress the rage that was building up.

"I left it in my apartment. Come on." I wanted him to read that letter where I knew he'd be safe.

He shot another look at his door before nodding and following.

I let us in and sat down on the couch, motioning for him to sit as well. He did and looked at me.

"Cloud said there was a letter in there for you as well. I…I think it would be best if you read it here…" I handed him the journal. The paper slipped out onto his lap.

The journal dropped and I watched the emotions fly over his face as he read.

The last one, as his hands went numb and the letter dropped, tore my heart. Not in half. Not in thirds, not even in fourths. It shredded it.

I don't even know what you call it.

He didn't cry. No. It was way beyond crying. Even a dolt like me could tell that. I gathered him into my arms and carried him to my room.

I managed to get across my room to my bed, sitting down with him in my lap.

I never even heard the tears when they came.

From me and from him.

I guess there is nothing too far removed for tears...

* * *

Disclaimer: me own nothing, and frankyl that's perfectly fine with me! Knowing other people know these characters is freakin awesome since i get to mess around with their stories lives and personalities as long as i don't claim to own them! (yes that was me trying to find the good in not owning anything...it didn't really work...)

A/N: PLEASE DON'T KILL ME SEIFER HATERS!! I swear there will be seifer harm in the chapter after the next if not the next one! Please don't harm me! I've been wanting to write more about Roxy's mother for a while...just didn't know how to put it in there! I don' tthink i did any good at it but...heh it's there...anyway please review even if its death threats towards me for not putting in any seifer harm! Thanx!


	16. Wake Up And Blank Out

A/N: Hiya! Okay there seemed to be some cofusion in the last chapter or two and i'm here to clear that up! Some people have bought into Ukahara's lie that's he's Roxas' uncle. Uh...no. He is Roxas' one and only father, and only siad he was roxy's mother's uncle so that he wouldn't get the police on his ass for raping a fifteen year old girl. So yeah, Ukahara is daddy dearest. Oh how i want to shoot him...Thanx for the rviews!

* * *

_Axel's POV_

I woke up the next morning with something warm and light on my chest.

That'll wake ya up in the morning. No coffee please…

I almost sat bolt upright…almost. I saw the mess of blonde hair before I did and finally registered the feeling of arms wrapped around my waist.

Roxas was still asleep on top of me.

Not to bad a way to wake up…until I remembered why he was here.

Dammit…

* * *

Roxas woke up about fifteen minutes later. It might have been because I was unconsciously running my hand up and down his spine…

I couldn't tell when he woke up until he sighed and opened his eyes.

"A-Axel? What are you doing?" I stopped moving my hand.

"Sorry. Didn't notice, thinking too hard." After last night I didn't think I would see it so soon, but hey I guess miracles can happen…he smiled at me. It was small but it was the first one I had seen in days.

"Don't hurt yourself…" His smile disappeared and his eyes went wide.

"Rox? You okay?"

"Sei…Seifer…I wasn't supposed to leave…wasn't supposed to leave…" His arms left my waist and curled them around himself (he had sat up a second ago…)

"Rox? I've been meaning to ask you…why do you let him do that to you?" Actually…I wasn't going to bother to ask before…my original plan had been to knock down the door and beat the crap…no…oh shit no, not now Axel, definitely not now. I didn't need to be loosing it right now of all times…

"He loves me…he takes care of me…he loves me he does…" I don't think I was here to him anymore.

"Roxas? Someone who beats on you when you do something he doesn't like doesn't love you. Someone who won't let you have friends doesn't love you. Someone who…takes you and makes you scream in pain…doesn't love you. That isn't love Roxas." It hurt me to tell him that. He looked like he really believed that Seifer loved him. It made me sick.

I felt my gut turn over and fought for my control…

"Roxas? Someone willing to put you through so much pain…that's not love."

"How would you know?" It didn't sound smart-ass. It sounded like he really wanted to know.

"Because I know I would never hurt you. Never ever lay a hand against you. I know because…I love you." My voice had dropped unintentionally. And what had come out…yeah that didn't get caught by the screen between my brain and mouth. I hadn't meant to say it. Before now I wasn't even sure if it was true.

But now that I think about it…it was.

I stopped mumbling to himself and stared at me. I really should have thought about that a little bit more…

"How can…how can you…love me?" The way he said me…you could just feel the disgust.

"I killed her Axel…I killed her…"

"Roxas! I know you read that letter. Whatever…Ukahara has told you…it's not true Roxas. It's not true…" It was still hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that Roxas Tetsu was Roxas Ukahara…I'll figure it out later.

"Roxas please. Stop hurting yourself. I don't know what people have told you. I don't know what you're going through and I won't pretend that I do. Just please. Just let me help you…" He was still staring at me. I slowly nodded as his head dropped.

"I'm so…tired Axel…I'm so tired of living like this…" That's when I finally noticed his arms weren't covered. No powder either.

"That's why you did this isn't it?" I gently took his hand in mine and turned his arm up. He nodded.

"I came here so I could finally control one thing…just one thing in my life." He had been planning to…to kill himself. My heart was beating way to fast.

"Good lord Roxas…" I gathered him into my lap, this time with his back against my chest.

It was perfect. He was finally opening up to me…and I loved the feeling.

…at least until someone knocked on my door.

Reno hadn't come home last night…and Demyx and the rest were all busy that I knew of.

"Stay here." Roxas nodded. I could see his the whites around his eyes as he curled closer to the wall.

I opened the door a crack…and literally sighed with relief.

It was Demyx…and Zexion…and Larxene. In that order too.

"Hey guys. Come on in." Demyx smiled. It's been awhile since I haven't made a wise ass comment to them at the door.

"Be right back." They nodded and proceeded to make themselves at home.

I went back to my room and nodded to Roxas.

"It's just the idiots." He smiled slowly, following me out.

"Roxy!" Demyx…tackle glomped the kid. Wow Demyx. I shot a look at Larxene. She had this look n her face that didn't take a genius to figure out what was going through her perverted antennae'd head.

That's when I remembered something. As soon as Roxas was released from Demyx's death grip (those hugs can kill…) I pulled him over for a second.

"There's some cover up in the bathroom." His eyes widened (again I know…he has very expressive eyes) and he nodded.

Yes I have a supply of cover up and yes there is a reason. You just don't get to know what it is. If I had my way, no one would. Ever.

That's when I heard it.

Crashing. Shouts.

How I hadn't heard it before was beyond me.

It was coming from next door. Seifer was awake.

I didn't bother fighting it down now. I pretty much welcomed it. It had been way too long since I had let it.

Demyx and the rest stared at me while I walked through the living room, opening my door with a sharp pull.

"Don't let him over there." Demyx nodded. He and Zexion had seen me like this before. Larxene never had.

"What the hell is…" Zexion dragged her away, whispering lowly.

I didn't care anymore.

Seifer would pay.

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Disclaimer: me own nothing but the plot

A/N: You guys probably hate me don't you? I know you do. I'm sorry but i'm in love with cliffhangers...and i kinda just wanted to make you guys squirm. If i'm not succeeding then oh well. I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible k? Thanx for the lovely reviews i loved them...and Natsumi Hatori (sorry if i didn't spell that right) I would hate to be repsonsible for you fainintg form lack of breath so please don't hurt yourself hyperventilating D Please review! It might keep my ass in this chair all day!


	17. Safety, Not Just A Dream

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A/N: I'm gonna say this up front...i'm sorry! You'll get why later...and if you don't then i didn't need to apolgize which would be awesome...anyway...Thanx for the freakin awesome reviews!

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_Roxas' POV_

Axel did in fact have a lot of cover up. Almost made me wonder why. Not my place…no. No Roxas.

It felt weird…to be correcting myself. I'd been doing the exact opposite all my life…

When I came out again, Zexion and Larxene were in a corner talking and Demyx was frowning at the wall.

The look was alien on his features…I wonder if it has anything to do with me…

Where the hell did Axel go?

"Uh…Demyx?" He looked down at me (damn tall people…) and smiled gently.

"Where's Axel?"

"My guess would be at your house. But in all honesty I don't know where he is. I know he had every intention of going next door…but when he's like that…" He shrugged. What the? That made no sense whatsoever.

"What do you mean?" it was…odd…asking questions…it made me uncomfortable…

"Hun…I take it Axel told you how he felt last night?" I nodded after thinking for a second…

"_Because I know I would never hurt you. Never ever lay a hand against you. I know because…I love you."_

"It's about time." I looked at him. I couldn't ask why. Didn't feel right. Didn't need to apparently…

"You should have seen him the past few days. Really seen him. Roxas I don't think you really understand what Axel's gone through to stay still." He motioned for me to sit on the couch with him.

"It's been obvious for a while. He loves you and honestly…we all owe you a thank you. It's not like Axel's been through all the shit you have. We don't understand it, and we won't press. But we know enough to know what was done to you…it's been tearing Axel apart." I saw Larxene out of the corner of my eye, staring at Demyx in amazement. Zexion's eyes glinted with something alien to me

"But when his parents died, and I think before as well, Axel's never been…open. He's never really cared about the world. I think when his parent's died, it just became worse. Sure we managed to get him to open up, " Demyx motioned to him and the other two, "But…Axel's had boyfriends in the past. Even a few girlfriends. None of those ended well."

This was a lot more words than I was used to hearing from Demyx…

"We thought he just wouldn't be able to open up to anyone. Roxas, in the past two weeks you've helped him more than he's aware of. He's showing emotion again." I stared at him. I'm not that special. I couldn't have done anything like what he said…even if I could understand it.

"Then why…why is he…?" Stupid mind…

"Why is he over at your house?" I nodded.

"He's tired of seeing you get hurt. He won't say anything. And we thought that maybe he wouldn't do anything. Most likely, he's over there about to repeat what happened between him and Riku." I didn't have to ask what happened. Once Demyx gets talking…

"Riku's forgiven him now, but…when they were little they absolutely hated each other. It just never got bad until me and Axel became friends. Axel is very, very protective of anyone he loves. Be it a friend or family. Riku always used to pick on me. Make me cry." Zexion had come over and looped his arm around his boyfriends shoulder. It was really sweet looking.

"I don't know what caused Axel to snap. We were…twelve I think. Maybe thirteen. I had always told him not to do anything about Riku. I didn't care about the prick he shouldn't either." He shrugged and smiled.

"It's just…I guess he had been storing it. Storing his anger. All I know is that Riku was found severely injured, nothing life-threatening or anything like that, and Axel…he was completely calm. Cold. Told us he couldn't stand it any longer. Riku had driven him insane."

I shivered. Axel was starting to sound a lot like…no. No he's not, Roxas. He said he would never hurt you.

"Axel's a lot stronger than he knows. Especially now. Seifer's gonna get hurt." No. What the hell is happening?!

I got up from the couch slowly. I had to see this for myself. I don't know why. I really don't…

All three pairs of eyes were on my as I slowly moved towards the door.

It was only when I opened it though that they moved. And by moved…I mean Larxene tried to tackle me…I blanked.

When I came to, I was outside the door and people were shouting in both apartments.

Just great…I'll worry about that later. I just had to see what was happening.

My apartment's door clicked open gently. At least…I thought it had…the apartment went silent.

"Rox? What are you doing here?" Axel came from the living room…Seifer was there too…just staring at me. The look in his eyes…I started to shake. I didn't notice the purpling bruise under his eye or how he seemed to be favoring his right leg and left arm till after.

"Get your ass in here!" When Seifer drops his voice, you listen…no questions…no fighting it…

He smirked as I made my way around Axel. It tore me apart to see the look on his face.

"See? He knows where he belongs. Even if he didn't kill his mother, he's still the biggest saseko you'll ever see," It's been awhile since he called me a whore in Japanese. It was kinda refreshing to have to think about an insult for a second… "Then again…maybe whore is too weak a word? I don't know Roxas. What do you call someone who sleeps with their own father?" the last part was a whisper, Axel hadn't hear didn't thank god. I don't know what I would do if Axel knew that.

"Rox? I know you don't believe him. I know you don't…" Maybe he had…oh god please tell me he hadn't…did it matter right now anyway? If he had, he wasn't giving any sign…maybe it was a good sign…

"Shut it. Can't you see? He doesn't want help." He laughed. "Last time he got help, he got me."

"That's right. I did. And you know what?" I kicked him. He grunted and bent over. "Fuck you."

Okay…none of that was planned…Neither was the smile I saw on Axel's face.

"Rox? Can you go to your room or something while I finish this?" I nodded and went down the hall to find the pups and Hoshii waiting for me in my room.

How did I know they were waiting for me? Hoshii tackled me and Tsuki and Taiyou landed on my chest from somewhere. I laughed.

I heard Axel and Seifer fighting…to think…Axel was maybe doing this for me…it was still too much for my brain to wrap around…

* * *

I had been dozing on my bed when Axel came in. I tried to act like I was asleep. I watched him watch me. He smiled slowly and walked over.

On instinct, I flinched when he touched my arm, before relaxing. He smiled even wider and crawled on the bed behind me.

I pushed against his chest as his arms wrapped around my waist.

There was no violence. No cold. No anger.

It was warm. Nice.

And for the first time in my life, I felt…

Safe…

* * *

Disclaimer: yeah me own nothing but the plot...that ain't changin anytime soon

A/N: so yeah the apology for earlier? That was because i can't write fight scenes (no matter hiow many i've been in...yes i've been in a lot of fights...you would think i could write them better...i know what you people are thinking! I'm not a bad person...just in the wrong place at the wrong time and all that...and the fact i was dragged to them probably helped...sorry rambling...) So yeah i mentioned that Seifer was hurt...but yeah, i can't wirte that type of thing ot save my life...i'm alos sorry how 1) this chapter was so short and 2) how this chapter sucked...sorry guys...and this is kinda a moot poitn but please review! I need ot know how bad i did with one/the climax of the story (don't take my word on that climax thing... i really have no idea...)! Thanx!


	18. Scars Don't Fade,Their Memory Disappears

A/N: Konichiwa!! (spelling migh tbe off but i really don't care...) anyway thanx for your lovely reviews!! They certaintly brightened my shitty week...anyway, here ya go!!

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_Axel's POV_

Now this was a nice way to wake up (actually it just didn't scare me this time and I wasn't depressed as to why he was here)

During our afternoon nap Roxas had managed to turn to where his face was buried in my chest. It was really cute. Like really really cute. Dear god…Demyx is invading my head…

We lay there, him asleep me watching him, for a long time. It was actually starting to get dark out before he started to wake up. I felt him cringe and tried not to move. Only when he was relaxed again did I look down to see he was looking up at me.

"Good night!" He laughed lightly. I smiled. I hadn't realized how much I missed his laugh. It was almost like a drug.

"I think Hoshii's getting jealous." Indeed she was…I swear that dog was silently snarling at me…from the foot of the bed. Only her eyes showed over the bed…and those slowly disappeared…That's not creepy. Nope. Not. At. All.

"Eh, you just stole her spot." He laughed again.

"Hey Roxas?" I had thought about not telling him but…he'd find out anyway.

"Seifer…Seifer's gone. He'll leave you alone now…" I couldn't finish…the look in his eyes…or should I say looks? Several emotions were taking freight train trips through his eyes and I only caught brief glances of two. Fear and…relief?

That's when I realized…Seifer was most likely the first person he had trusted after his Father. Oh shit. I mean I didn't feel bad about taking _Seifer_ from him (who the hell would?). No what got to me was I had taken away the one thing he thought he trusted and loved. I felt like shit…no. Wrong. I felt like shit but…would that stop me from trying to help him?

Hell. Fucking. No.

It just meant I would have to work twice as hard to replace him, or, if need be find someone who could, and how I prayed this wouldn't have to happen…don't you dare mistake that for "I would make sure it didn't." If it was what Roxas needed, I would make sure he got it!

"Axel? Roxas?" Demyx! Dammit!

"Stay here alright? I need to go kill an annoying mistake of 80's hairstyles." He nodded, but I really don't think he heard me.

Demyx was standing in the doorway, simply staring at Roxas' giant TV. Hey, except for Zexion, Demyx knew no rich kids…

"Yes Demyx?"

"Oh there you are I wa…is this a bad time?" No Demyx not at all…

"I'll tell you guys later alright? I just need some time alone with him…" Demyx nodded and closed the door before I even finished. No matter how annoying Demyx is, you can always trust him to know when to back out. Just depends on the situation.

"Roxas? He's gone. You wanna come out?" I walked back into his room…to find me one less blonde….and not the one I had wanted to disappear…

Okay…so maybe I started to panic…key word being maybe there…never let it be said that Axel is one to break from panic in five seconds but…my breathing did get a little faster.

Did I do something? Had I gone too far? Was Seifer really that impor…And hello open door.

I peeked my head into the one room that scared me the most. And what do you know? Roxas was there sitting in the middle of the floor, his eyes trained on the shrine in front of him.

"Rox?" He was starting to scare me. It didn't even look like he was breathing.

"All this time…I…I thought…she would hate me…I knew she would hate me…" I walked over and sat behind him, my legs spread to either side. He leaned against my chest.

"Rox? She loved you. She'll always love you." He shivered.

"I've become so weak…simply because…" he choked and I saw his hand wrap around his throat lightly, fingering the rope burn.

"How…how did you…get that?" I didn't want to seem like I was pushing but…all of his scars had me worried and curious...mostly the former.

He was silent for a moment…maybe he wasn't going to answer…

"A week before I came here. Da…Ukahara…he…tied me to my bed. It was too tight…and…I had breakdown I guess…only reason he took it off…" He let out a shuddering breath. Dear lord help me…and while you're at it help Roxas too.

"Rox I…" That's when I remembered his other scars (specifically anyway…)

_Like eight diagonal scars that ran across his shoulder blades. They were faded and hard to see but they were there. There was another long scar around his hips. This one wasn't as straight as the others. And it looked newer. That must have been painful_.

"I know what you're thinking Axel…and I know you saw them." It was my turn to jump.

"How…"

"How'd I know?" His laugh was cold. Dead. "You're not as quiet as you like to think." Ouch.

"Okay then…so do you want to tell me?" I felt his head move. He was nodding.

"The one across my back…I don't remember much of that night really. I just know Ukahara was drunk…he was mad…an empty bottle was near his hands and he made use of it. Only time I was ever in a hospital too." Only time?! Well…never mind…that wasn't a big surprise. I may have never met the man but Ukahara was at the top of my shit list. Hands down.

"The others…" He stopped and took my hand. He placed it on his shoulder, where they began (his shirt? Yeah that thing is barely better than that fishnet one he wore before…)

I understood. Those were fingernail marks. Slightly larger than my own fingers, or at least the lines my fingers would make. Someone grown had had to do this…

_What do you call someone who sleeps with their own father?_

Shit. Shit. Shit. And triple shit…

"Ukahara…he…Seifer wasn't the only one was he?" Didn't need to explain what I was asking…it was all too easy to feel him go stiff as he nodded again.

Wait…he wasn't going stiff…he was…cringing? Oh…Axel you idiot…

I hugged him tighter, hoping to let him know through that motion that I wasn't going to leave him because of that secret. Or any secret.

"Rox…I'm so sorry…I don't know what…what to do…" I felt like an idiot. A really big one. "But I do know…no one's ever going to hurt you again. I promise you."

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Disclaimer: Yeah me own nothing...my muse has been telling me to get over it...hasn't happened yet...

A/N: No my story is not over! Ahem, sorry. When i re-read this after spending a day and a half trying to figure out how to get this longer (didn't work by the way) i realized that some people might take that to be the end. It's not. I still have a few good chaps in me. Anyway i'm so sorry this chapter is so short..and fluffy. I'm probably overloading on the fluffy aren't I? Sorry. I'm kinda obsessed with fluffiness. Like...really obsessed. It's just nice to see a bit of love in a world filled with hate...sorry ranting, anyway i'll try and make the next few chaps longer kk? Please review!!


	19. Life And Love?

A/N: Hiya!! Okay so i was planning on taking maybe a week or two off but...i'm just a little bit obsessed with this story...since its mine is that wierd? I wouldn't care if it was. Anway thankies for all the lovely reviews!! They brightened up my day...and got me back in the black chair. This chaps a bit longer than the last ones...by like 100 words...so not much but still, i'm getting there. Here ya go!

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_Normal POV_

_The boy was five. Tears were streaming down his face. Why did Daddy lock him up this time? What had he done to make Daddy mad?_

_The boy didn't know. He just knew he was cold. Hungry. And Daddy wasn't going to let him out for at least another day. He had done something bad. This was how daddy punished bad kids…_

* * *

_Eight years later. Thirteen now. The punishment had changed. His fear hadn't._

_He wasn't in that dark room anymore. He was in one with a window this time. Tied to the bed in the center of it. Daddy had never done more than touch, or have him touch. Nothing more than that._

_The boy had been bad. He was being punished. He was always being punished. But Daddy was acting different tonight. Just sitting there across the room, staring at him._

"_Daddy?" Daddy came to the bed, slapped him and then went back to his chair. The boy was scared now. Daddy had just slapped him. Hadn't punched him. Hadn't kicked him. He just…just slapped him._

_That's when the men came in. Five in all. All in suits. All dark. The foremost one gave him a smile…one that looked…looked like Daddy's smile._

"_Such a pretty boy."_

* * *

_The boy was eighteen. Things had changed. It wasn't Daddy anymore. It was Sir. He only called him Daddy on…certain nights. Sir liked it that way._

_The boy wasn't worried about that now though. He was on his way to meet another boy. One whom he could relax…or at least pretend to. After all, this boy loved him right?_

_Had the door not been open, things might have been different._

"_Who the little whore? I'm supposed to meet him in a few minutes…what? Oh right. I could get him to give us the money we need. Don't worry, I'll get it. That bitch will do anything for me. Like a well trained dog."_

_The boy…broke. He thought the man had loved him. He thought he had loved the man._

_He was out of the city by the next morning._

* * *

_Roxas' POV_

I wasn't really sleeping so much as dozing and dreaming. Memory dreams. Random events from my childhood I guess. I used to hate it when these happened. I wouldn't just dream them. I would relive them. Every moment of fear. Of sadness…pain…

But now…they seemed distant. Faded. They hurt to remember but they didn't _hurt._ If that makes any sense whatsoever. I'm not even sure I understood it…

But what I did understand was…the redhead at my back just might have something to do with it.

He told me he loved me.

My heart beat just a little bit faster. I think I just might…

* * *

_Axel's POV_

Roxas had fallen asleep in my lap a few hours ago. He twitched every once in a while, and I think I saw a silent scream. I held him closer when that one happened.

The pictures around the room…they all seemed so empty now that I could recognize the look in Roxas' eyes…at least the ones where he didn't have sunglasses.

I could also tell…here and there…where Seifer's (may his soul roast in hell) hands were clenching just a little to tight, or the way he was looking at Roxas was a little too hungry or cocky.

I hadn't expected Roxas to open up to me. Not so soon if ever. The most I had been hoping for…I don't really know actually. I guess…I just wanted him not to look like he was going to die in the next minute and keep living…with no change whatsoever.

I remember when he cringed when I touched him earlier. I had expected that. I'm just surprised he hadn't…curled into himself. I would have gone to the living room if that had happened.

"Axel?" He coughed. I looked down. Oh. Oops. I released my death grip on his chest with a sheepish smile that he returned.

"Do you mind if I ask you something?" I nodded. He looked uncomfortable again. Well…at least he was trying.

"Never mind…it's not my place to…" I put a finger over his mouth (he had turned sideways to face me)

"Roxas. This is me remember? You can talk freely. You're not trapped." He nodded slowly, but his eyes stayed down.

"This is going to sound weird but…why do you have so much cover up?" His voice had dropped. I froze before forcing myself to relax. He felt the change anyway.

"I'm sorry, just ignore meIshouldn'thavesaidanything…" I stopped him again.

"I told you I would never be angry at you for asking questions. And I…guess I should tell someone. Eventually." He stared at me wide eyed. See Roxy? Not everyone is an asshole.

"It's not that big. But…not even Demyx knows about it. Haven't really used the stuff for a long time…I think the last time was three months ago." I felt really stupid about this too so don't anyone dare laugh…

"I take it Demy told you about my temper?" He nodded. "Heh. He doesn't know the half of it. Before…I would always take my anger out on anything as soon as I was alone. And I do mean anything. Once I took on the side of a semi that was parked in a back alley. The cover up I used to cover any damage I did to myself. Which…was quite a lot. So yeah, just so you know I'm partly insane."

I hadn't told anyone about my "fights." I mean come on. Would you tell someone about fighting…with a tree? Or a brick wall?

Roxas looked at me then. Those blue eyes…they weren't dead anymore. They weren't cold. Sad. Depressed. Empty. They were radiant. Shining. And because of them…I didn't notice the smile until after I had regained my sight.

I knew I had found an angel.

* * *

We were watching a movie about an hour later. I don't remember what it was called…yes I was too busy watching him to really pay attention, but apparently it was good enough to get Roxas to show emotion.

Couldn't be all bad for a chick flick…

That's when my phone went off. I had taken off the previous ringtone days ago (guess when) and replaced it with…Nickleback? I don't really remember…

Oh well. Sounded cool.

"Yo?" I pulled the thing away from my ear a second later.

"AXEL!! Where the fuck are you?!" I smirked. Either my friends had ditched or just refused to tell him anything…I heard him through the wall and through the phone.

"Uh…is that any business of yours? I'm alive. I'm well. Goodbye." I hung up. That would earn me a smack later but you know what? It was too much fun to mess with him to give it up. Something about turn about is fair play.

I heard something crash and smirked. It was probably a plate. I looked back over at Roxas.

"Don't worry Rox. Reno's just being the overbearing big brother. And I'm just being the pest of a little brother." He nodded slowly.

That's when another blonde popped in my head (how many blondes are there?!)

"Rox? Do you think…do you think you should call Cloud?" Well…at least he didn't freeze. He was just wildly shaking his head.

"I couldn't…couldn't expect him to…understand…I…" I sighed. Not again.

"Roxas? Cloud is the one who came all this way to help you. That's all he was trying to do. I think. I think he knows more than you think he does. Please just tell him Seifer's gone? I won't make you, you know I won't, but it would be a…" I saw him in my face before I felt his lips on mine.

It was gone just like that but the tingling was still there. He smiled.

"I know you won't. I'll call him alright? Tonight. I promise." He leaned back against my chest and turned his attention back to the movie.

Me? Yeah…my brain was in lala land…not that I minded. Not one bit.

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Disclaimer: Yet agian, i own nothing but my dark and weird personality...but hey me no care, i get to make the characters do what i want Bwahahahaha!!

A/N: ahem...anyways...I just realized how much i;m dragging this along, i hate to say it but this story may be close to done. Really close. -sobs- why?! why must it end?! -cough- sorry bout that. But the fact that i might actually finish a story for once is still numbing my brain so i;m acting a little bit crazier than usual. So thanx for the reviews!! And please review some more!! If you do i will...hm...i will...give you any AkuRoku item of your choice? We'll go with that


	20. A Dog's Life

A/N: Dum-da-da-dum!! I'M BACK!! And damn am i happy about it!! I'm so sorry this took so long guys! I've been really busy! Testtesttesttesttest!! I swear the word 'test' is burned into my brain! Thanx for the reviews!! They were awesome!

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_Axel's POV_

Monday. Damn it needs to die. Why? It woke me up and made me actually think of _getting_ up when I was sleeping so peacefully on the couch. With Roxas on my chest.

It took me about five minutes before I remembered all that had happened yesterday.

I remember kicking Seifer out of the house saying if I ever saw him again, the police would be on his ass. I remember talking with Roxas. And I remember…he kissed me.

Holy shit…I had thought that was a dream…but the memory was way too clear to even possibly be a dream.

My heart was now going about two hundred miles an hour if not more…

What the hell was that sound?

…I turned on the TV to the weather station, keeping it low so as not to wake the boy on my chest.

"-schools across the state of New York have been closed today. Not surprising since the storm covering most of the state makes the one a few weeks ago look like a spring rain. The storm is predicted to last through Wednesday. Now onto-" I turned it off.

Cool.

One guess what I did next.

* * *

I woke up again when I felt the weight on top of me shift.

"Uh…am I imagining things or does that clock say eleven?" And hello "we'll be late for school…again" syndrome (Reno calls it that. So I'm a little late sometimes so what?)

"Listen for a sec Roxy." Shit…did not mean to call him that.

Is that a…blush? Holy shit it was. I smiled. I could get used to this.

"Oh…" I laughed.

"I'll bet you anything that within the next half hour Demyx we'll be pounding on your door." That got _him_ to laugh and nod.

He got up and I repressed the urge to whimper as the cold air hit my chest. Dammit I will not whimper in front of someone else.

"You want something to eat?" I propped myself up on my elbows and watched him walk into the kitchen. Is it just me or did he seem to…float?

"What'cha got?" He laughed.

"Anything you want." The smile on his face was…odd. The phrase was said oddly.

But did that do more than scratch the edge of my thoughts? Nope. When I'm hungry, any other thought disappears.

* * *

Sure enough. As soon as the clock turned to read twelve, some knocking came at the door. Wait. Did I say knocking? I'm pretty sure a hand can't make that loud of a sound.

I waited till right after one of the knocks to open the door.

Zexion became unbalanced and would have fallen on his ass had Zexion and Larxene not been behind to catch him.

"Aw Zexy, I thought you reserved kicking down a door for my door." Fake hurt is rather easy for me to pull off.

"You're in this house so it applies to this one as well. Now let us in it's freezing out here." I looked to Roxas, who looked like he was trying hard not to laugh.

"I don't know, this isn't my house. Well Roxas wanna let these home wreckers in?" He laughed lightly. That's when I really noticed how much his face, hell all of him, was just glowing.

"Sure. I'm gonna go change. Make yourselves at home." Again with the floating thing.

When he was down the hall and out of sight, I realized my friends were still shivering outside. Oops.

Not that they noticed…They were all kinda just staring at me.

"You heard him. Come in." I opened the door wider. Demyx was nodding dumbly, Larxene as well, and Zexion was…Zexion.

"What's with the looks?" They knew something I didn't. Not for long if I had my way.

"Dear lord are you really that dense?" I just nodded because I didn't want Zexion to spend the next fifteen minutes proving that I was (he's done it before…I swear he is devil spawn)

"You've spent more time with him than anyone and you don't notice? He was practically floating…and he looked half-fairy!" Hm. Wouldn't have described it that way but whatever works.

"So?" Zexion pinched the bridge of his nose. It looked rather interesting from my point of view considering he really only comes up to my chin. God I love short people.

"You're glowing too bastard." Was I? Well…that's embarrassing. But I guess it would explain the goofy smile I just now felt on my face. I tried to make it leave. It didn't work.

"What happened?" At least Demyx can be counted on to be nice…

"Uh…" Now I blushed. I don't know why. Never blushed before…

"You kissed him didn't you?" Girls' instincts man…scary stuff.

"Not exactly…he kissed me…but…" I shrugged. Demyx was practically squealing, Larxene was smiling and Zexion was again, being Zexion (he has NO emotions!!)

* * *

_Roxas' POV_

Was that a squeal? Oh shit…Axel told them…or they guessed. It wouldn't be that hard with the look on his face. I had been trying hard not to laugh all morning because of it.

Me. Trying not to laugh? I could barely believe it. In fact, I was trying to avoid that topic all together.

I looked through my closet again. I didn't want to wear a turtleneck again today. I had nothing else to hide so why make myself uncomfortable? I shook my head. These thoughts were coming too easy.

A small part of my mind was warning me, telling me not to let my guard down. Anything could happen…anything…

A larger part of me though, knew I probably looked just as goofy as Axel.

I don't know what had made me kiss him last night. I really don't.

His expression of complete surprise though was rather cute.

I figured out it was pointless looking for anything that wasn't black or dark brown and threw on a dark blue tank top and black lounge pants. Not like I was going outside anyway.

I made sure that The Room's door was closed before heading out to the living room where everyone else was. I didn't realize I had stalkers with me until Demyx squealed.

Apparently Demyx likes dogs.

I didn't even see him run over here or pick up Tsuki and Taiyou but there they were, in his arms, loving the attention.

Hoshii wasn't nearly as welcoming. Not again.

"Shi-Shi. Come on girl." I knelt down beside her. "They're Axel's friends okay? They're mine too. He won't hurt your babies." I don't know why, but Hoshii has always responded when I talked to her like a human. A Japanese human anyway. One of the reasons I normally spoke to her in Japanese.

She seemed to nod and stopped snarling.

_Flashback 2 years ago…_

"_Oh shit, oh shit…" The blonde hurried through the streets, imagining what waited for him at home if he couldn't find the money._

_He ducked into one of the smaller dens that lined the alleys in this part of town. Just his luck it was the one he needed._

_He had no taste for dog fighting. It hurt him to watch. But it was the only way he'd get the money he needed in time._

_Dog fighting, or any type of fighting really, was the only thing he hated. He may not have believed he had nay right to hate anything, but even a dead tree can hate the wood chipper._

_The den was crowded, even better for getting the money. He waved a few bills at the man in charge (he was dressed differently, more richly than anyone else in the den)_

"_Which one?" The boy looked into the ring where two more dogs were being brought out._

_One was a Rottweiler, a rather nasty looking one. The other was an Akita. She was smaller than the other and seemed more to shy than attack. Odd._

_He heard the bets going to the Rottweiler._

_Something in his heart, or what was left of it, twisted. This wasn't a fight. It was going to be a slaughter. For the Rottweiler anyway. He could see that in the female's eyes. There was hurt there sure, but…her eyes looked like what Roxas could have become. Sane insanity. She was willing to fight, but that didn't mean she wanted to. _

_That's when a crazy idea came to him. He pulled out all his money. "I'll take the female." The man looked at the boy with more interest now. Roxas knew what he saw. New bait. Roxas could see the wheels in the man's head turning as he tried to figure out how much money he could get out of him._

"_Hope you know what you're doin' boy." Roxas nodded and turned back to the fight. He held his stomach beneath his coat. This wasn't going to be easy to watch._

* * *

_The fight was over quickly. And just as Roxas had thought, the female had won. But not without damage. Cuts on her stomach were bleeding freely._

_He collected his money from a rather quieter ref and walked over to who seemed to be the owner of the dog._

"_How much do you want for her?" The man looked up from what he was doing (counting money it looked like)_

"_49,000. She's almost impossible to get here at all. She's no use to me as a real dog." Roxas shook his head at the man's stupidity but also could see a point. That dog would only fight for so long before she turned on those who pushed her. He handed him the bills and was as close to happy as he could get to realize he still had enough to give Sir._

_The man left for a sec and came back with the dog on a chain leash. She was still bleeding pretty badly, but they were closing now._

_Roxas accepted the leash from the man without another word._

_End flashback_

Hoshii almost seemed to nod and looked back to the now calmer Demyx. Said taller blonde had put down Tsuki and Taiyou and was now holding out his hand to Hoshii.

Hoshii had understood, and I hadn't realized how important that was to me. If Hoshii, who might as well have been an extension of me, had not chosen to try and like my new…friends (odd word that) I don't know what I would've done.

"Well Demyx. I am now officially jealous of you." That was Axel, who was at the moment eating some cereal. Forgot I had that in there.

"Why?" He was now petting Hoshii happily and hadn't even looked up.

"She attacked me the first time I met her." I laughed, remembering.

"Roxy? How the hell do you turn on your TV? It hates me I swear." I laughed even harder watching Axel mess with the remote. The look of concentration on his face was just too much.

"It's the big button Axel. The one that says 'on'." he blushed.

"I knew that…" Uh-huh. Sure you did Axel.

I walked over to the couch that Axel and Larxene were sitting on. (Zexion had taken the chair) I sat down by Axel's side, just to let out a squeak (I, unlike many guys, have no issue with admitting that I squeaked. Everyone does it when they're surprised, guy or girl. Get over it) as Axel pulled me closer to him and wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

I ignored the almost silent "aw" from Demyx's direction and the smile on Larxene's face, and practically melted into my spot.

Axel finally managed to turn on the TV and flicked it to a twenty-four hour movie channel.

I don't remember the movies we watched, or what we talked about.

I was way too absorbed in the feeling of complete bliss I was feeling, all through the day.

I'll admit it now.

I'm in love.

* * *

Disclaimer: yadda yadda. I own nothing. I'll live (barely)

A/N: Yay my chappy was longer this time!! Again i'm so sorry this took me so long (i'll try to be faster!) and if this chap seems a bit...monotonous (or boring for those who are big word handicapped like me) but i swear after a few english tests you'd start to write like that too! Anyway thank you so much for your support guys! Love ya! Please review!


	21. Busy With Heaven

A/N: No i'm not dead. So hello! Sorry this took me forever, but i will have my full apology at the end. Thanks to those who are still bothering to read this story!

* * *

_Axel's POV_

Roxas had fallen asleep with his head on my thigh about half an hour ago.

And I if had to hear how cute or adorable Tsuki and Taiyou were one more time…I was going to be short one mullet-ed blonde.

"So what happened with Seifer?" I felt Roxas shift. If that's not an omen or something I don't know what is.

"Not so loud." Larxene shrugged, the closest she ever got to an apology. "I kicked him out." No need to elaborate. I think Zexion knew what happened anyway. Demyx probably did too. Those two have this…ESP connection or something. What one knows, the other usually isn't too far behind.

"And no Larxene, I'm not telling you guys anything else. That's for him to tell you if he wants." Larxene frowned, but…Oh my god, someone call an ambulance! Zexion, the master of total emotionless-ness was smiling, and Demyx wasn't the cause!

"Who are you and what have you done with Zexion?" I meant it only half joking. Zexion's smiles are just a tad bit creepy.

"Careful Axel. We wouldn't want your precious computer to contract a virus again would we?" Dammit…evil genius…

"Then why are you smiling…at me no less?!"

"Because you're being smart. For once." I sighed. "You love him don't you?"

"I do. I just don't think he'll be able to return it. Not that that has any affect on it, I just don't want to hurt him again." I don't know where that came from but, every word was true.

That's when I really took in what Roxas was wearing. The shirt didn't cover his shoulders and now that he was asleep it had rode up his back.

I tried to move his shirt in a way no one would notice.

Dear lord save me…from women's eyes. Larxene immediately noticed.

"Axel? What are you doing?" That caught Zexion's attention. Demyx was still too busy with Hoshii.

"Nothing." The world's oldest lie proved to be also the worst.

"Axel? You do know you suck at lying right?" I jumped. Dammit Roxas!

"You. Room. Now." I practically dragged him to his room. Not like he was fighting or anything… Zexion and Larxene were staring at us with amusement. Oh how I wanted to set fire to them at the moment.

And why am I getting so worked up? Do you want a list? Okay, 1. Roxas hasn't told them anything of his past, hell I don't even know most of it (I know enough to know his life was something I would probably die before going through.) 2. I didn't know if Roxas had actually meant to come out baring his scars. There are more but those are the big ones.

When I closed the door and turned to face him…I fell back against the door. You would too alright. The midget was about three inches in front of me, simply staring at me. He smiled at took a step back.

"Payback. Now why the hell did you drag me off to my room?" The devil incarnate is blonde, short, and oblivious. Great.

"Uh…your shirt?" He nodded. "Do you…want them to see?" Now he understood. And laughed.

"Axel, dear lord. You're an idiot sometimes you know that? Why would I want to hide them?" I just looked at him. Why wouldn't you?!

"If you hide something, you haven't accepted it. Ya it happened. Ya my life _was_ shit." Is it just me or did he emphasize the word 'was'? "Ya I never had what I wanted. Then. But hell if I can't relax around your friends, then how could I relax around you?" I still just looked at him. He was getting at something and I still couldn't tell what it was.

He sighed. "Fine. Since nothing short of a brick upside the head will get through your skull…" Next thing I knew, I felt lips against my own. Little white lights were going off in my head and before I could recover he had pulled away again.

"Did that get through?" I'll let you know when I can talk again. "I trust your friends because I trust you idiot. More than trust actually." He smirked and walked out of the room. Leaving me to fall on my knees, staring off into space.

I'm not so stupid that I didn't get that. No the reason I was sitting there like a dumbass was because…I just couldn't believe it.

"Axel! Get your ass out here!" I scrambled out of the room. When Larxene yells like that, you obey. No questions.

I stopped when I saw why the harpy had yelled. On the TV, there he was. I felt my fists and teeth clench.

"Breaking news from Tokyo today. Mr. Ukahara, owner of Asia's largest company, has been arrested today. Charges of this surprising arrest include…" The Japanese anchorwoman stopped, going pale. She hadn't looked this over yet apparently. "Rape of three minors," three? "abuse, murder, extortion, and drug dealing. Oh…my…" She made a quick motion with her hand and the screen switched to a live feed of…Cloud?

"So, Mister Ukahara, do you have anything to say about your father's charges?" Cloud smiled coldly.

"All I'll say is that I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner." The reporter recovered rather quickly from that.

"Is it possible you'll become the owner of your father's business or do you think he'll be released?" What the hell? With rape, murder, and drug dealing on his list of charges the guy will be lucky to get out with just two lifetime sentences.

"You're joking right? He's not getting out. Not for what he did to my brother."

"…b-brother? Just one more question please, do you have any idea who turned him in?"

"Of course. I did."

"Um…back to you Kasumi."

"Thank you. For more details about this event please tune in tonight at six. And in other news, world famous band Shukketsu Hatsu, with the dissapearence of two of their members, issued a cooment today stating that with the release of their last cd, they are officially over. More on this can be found on our website..." Zexion turned off the TV. The room was silent, all eyes on Roxas. Who was still staring up at the TV like he was reliving the report.

"Roxas? Babe?" Whoa. That wasn't supposed to come out.

Tears were streaming down his face. But something was…different. You ever notice that? Tears for sadness look a hell of a lot different than tears of joy.

One guess what these were.

* * *

"See ya guys." I looked on with sympathy as my three friends left in the rain. Heh sucks for them.

It was about seven now. After the news report, Roxas had turned into a demigod, smiling like crazy, laughing. Needless to say, our afternoon had been fun. (we even looked up the Shukketsu Hatsu thing. The last two band members were quoted saying "we liked it but sometimes secrets will break you apart" Now what do you suppose they meant?)

"Roxas? Where'd you go?" That was kinda a stupid question since I could smell perfectly where he was.

Kitchen. Cooking.

"Just follow your nose Axel. You're good at that." Alright. Make fun of me.

I made my way into the kitchen quietly, sneaking up behind him. When I slipped my arms around his waist he jumped a bit.

"And who said I wasn't quiet?" I whispered. He laughed but other wise ignored me.

"Whutcha doing Roxy?" What the… Roxas laughed from behind me.

"Wondering why you can't catch a midget." He smirked. Oh no he didn't. Don't challenge me to game of cat and mouse. I always win. I smirked right back and made a grab at him. He dodged and ran into the living room.

"What's the matter Axel? Ca…" Not this time Roxy. I tackled him onto the couch.

"I win." I looked down at him (I was now basically laying on top of him)

"Who says I didn't let you do that? You forget, I can move faster than you can imagine." Oh right…he has a black belt…I shrugged.

"So?"

"Witty as always. Idiot."

"Yes but I'm your idiot." Yes that was completely lame. Got a problem with it?

"Yes you are." We lay there smiling at each other. I don't know how long.

But I can say one thing. If the world calls, tell them I'm busy with heaven.

* * *

Disclaimer: Me own nothing!!

A/N: Okay i'm so sorry this took me forever to wrap up but i actually finished this chapter about three weeks agi but i didn't post it because iw as hoping a better ending would come to me. But it didn't. So yeah the lameness above, -sob-, is the end of Easier to Run. I'm sorry if it didn't hold up to any standards. But thank you to all those who stuck with me with my first fic. I know it was kinda bad, but thankx anyway! So for the last time please review and tell me what you thought! Yes i will even take flames if you hate me for the end. Sayonara!


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